The GOP’s Violent Campaign against Nancy Pelosi
Attack on Pelosi’s spouse was predictable based on Republicans’ long-time effort to violently target her
Carrying a semi-automatic rifle and a box of documents representing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s “radical agenda,” Mike Collins places the box near some trees in an isolated woods. The Georgia Republican, who is running for the Congress seat occupied by Georgia Secretary of State primary loser Jody Hice, aims his AR-15 at the documents and fires, blowing them to shreds.
With rifle still in hand, Collins, a trucking business owner, turns to the camera. “I’m going to Washington to stop the Pelosi agenda, and they’re not going to silence me,” he says in the 2022 campaign video.
Dressed as an Old West sheriff, Jim Lamon patrols a dusty town. He observes actors playing three Democratic politicians sporting bandanas — Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, President Joe Biden, and Pelosi approach him. As town residents complain about gas prices and other perceived ills, Lamon stands before the political leaders and tells them, “The good people of Arizona have had enough of you. It’s time for a showdown.”
Lamon, who lost his bid for Arizona senator in the 2022 Republican primary, shoots the actors’ weapons out of their hands. The “D.C. Gang” runs away. The ad ran during the 2022 Super Bowl and other prime spots.
Such ads promoting violence against Pelosi and other Democrats have become trendy in far-right Republican corners. They are the tip of the iceberg in the level of violent threats Pelosi has endured since she first became House Speaker in 2007 and Republicans mockingly called her “Darth Nancy.” In 2009, the Republican National Committee even featured an ad in which a gun was fired while Pelosi was shown in the crosshairs and blood dripped down the screen.
On October 28, David DePape, 42, allegedly broke into Pelosi’s San Francisco home, police say. He reportedly confronted Paul Pelosi, Nancy’s spouse, screaming “Where’s Nancy?” several times. Police say he tried to tie up Pelosi and told him he would wait for his wife, who was in D.C. He reportedly attacked him with a hammer. Pelosi, 82, underwent surgery to his skull and arms, and doctors expected him to recover.
DePape’s social media feeds show how riled up he was about many topics popular among Republicans, including COVID restrictions, alleged reverse racism, climate change, gun laws, school “groomers,” and voter…