Charlie Kirk Says a ‘Patriot’ Should Bail Out Alleged Paul Pelosi Attacker

Republicans usually tout a “tough on crime” stance, but right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk thinks a man who is set to be charged with attempted homicide should be allowed out on bail.

“Why has he not been bailed out?” Kirk said Monday on his podcast of the man who allegedly beat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul with a hammer last Friday. “By the way, if some amazing patriot out there in San Francisco or the Bay Area wants to really be a midterm hero, someone should go and bail this guy out, I bet his bail’s like thirty or forty thousand bucks.” With a smirk, he added: “Bail him out and then go ask him some questions.”

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Early last Friday morning, Berkeley resident David DePape, 42, allegedly attacked Paul Pelosi, 82, at the San Francisco home he shares with with Speaker Pelosi. Unable to locate the latter, who was not on the property, DePape was heard to ask, “Where’s Nancy? Where’s Nancy?” Police officers said that as they arrived on the scene, they witnessed DePape beating Paul Pelosi with a hammer. Pelosi is now recovering after emergency surgery for a skull fracture and other injuries.

Because DePape had a history of blogging about far-right ideas and even dabbled in QAnon conspiracy theories, the GOP has scrambled to deny that this was an attempted assassination of a leading Democrat. Some have gone as far as peddling a conspiracy theory of their own. An “opinion” piece in the fake news publication the Santa Monica Observer falsely claimed that DePape was a sex worker hired by Pelosi and the two had gotten into a physical dispute. The piece was amplified by, among others, Elon Musk, who later deleted his tweeted link without explanation or apology.

Kirk hinted on Monday that DePape, whom he called a “gay schizophrenic nudist,” would confirm that version of events when given the opportunity — if only someone bailed him out. In fact, DePape is being held without bail, which would seem a major impediment to such a stunt, and perhaps one reason Kirk has not attempted to orchestrate it himself.

San Francisco district attorney Brooke Jenkins, expected to formally charge DePape this afternoon, on Sunday pushed back against misinformation about the violent break-in. She emphasized that, contrary to one rumor, there was no third individual present when police arrived. As to any preexisting connection between DePape and Pelosi, she said: “We have nothing to suggest that these two men knew each other prior to this incident.”

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