Blogs said to have been written by Pelosi home invader David DePape claim that he was initially radicalized byGamergate, an online harassment campaign that took aim at various women in the gaming industry. On October 28, 82-year-old Paul Pelosi, husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was attacked in his home with a hammer, allegedly by a man named David DePape. Various publications have started digging into DePape’s past in the wake of the attack, discovering a disturbing online presence.
A pair of blogs believed to have been written by DePape have been discovered, including one where he credits the Gamergate movement for radicalizing him. The blog post, published on August 23, said, “How did I get into all this. Gamer gate it was gamer gate.” Besides Gamergate,controversial conservative personality Jordan Petersonwas also credited by DePape as influencing his political views. DePape’s alleged blog promoted various far-right conspiracy theories, like Pizzagate andQAnon, including racist, misogynistic, and antisemitic writings, going as far as to call the Holocaust a hoax.
Many far-right conspiracy theories and hoaxes paint Nancy Pelosi as a villain, accusing her of being complicit in all kinds of sinister things that have no basis in reality. It seems DePape was looking for Nancy when he broke into the Pelosi home, as it’s been reported that he repeatedly asked about her whereabouts while he hit Paul Pelosi with the hammer. Paul Pelosi is expected to survive the ordeal but has had to undergo surgery on his skull as a result of the attack.
There’s long been a discussion about the potential for online gaming communities to encourage toxic beliefs and behaviors. Recently, a study was published that suggestedpeople who identify as a gamer may be more likely to be racist and sexist. This does not mean that video games make people racist and sexist, and in all actuality, the games themselves have little to do with Gamergate or anything surrounding it. It’s the toxic online communities that are the problem.
Gamergate is one of the most extreme examplesof what happens when online toxicity gets out of control, and as made clear by the radicalization of alleged Paul Pelosi attacker David DePape, the impact of it is still felt in the world to this day. More information on David DePape’s background and motivations for the attack on Paul Pelosi will likely come to light as the investigation into him continues.
