Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton jumped on the bandwagon on Saturday, joining a number of liberal pundits and elected Democrats who blamed the Republican Party for an alleged violent attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) husband, Paul.
Clinton echoed the sentiments — if not the words — of people like President Joe Biden and MSNBC anchor Andrea Mitchell, who suggested that the rhetoric and politically charged anger that had spawned the January 6th riot on Capitol Hill had spread to Pelosi’s San Francisco home.
“The Republican Party and its mouthpieces now regularly spread hate and deranged conspiracy theories,” Clinton tweeted. “It is shocking, but not surprising, that violence is the result. As citizens, we must hold them accountable for their words and the actions that follow.”
The Republican Party and its mouthpieces now regularly spread hate and deranged conspiracy theories. It is shocking, but not surprising, that violence is the result. As citizens, we must hold them accountable for their words and the actions that follow.https://t.co/MQor4NDFeE
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 29, 2022
Clinton shared an article from The Los Angeles Times that identified alleged attacker David DePape — who has been arrested and charged with attempted homicde, among other charges — as someone who “spread QAnon, other far-right, bigoted conspiracy theories.”
Space X and Tesla CEO Elon Musk fired back — in a since-deleted tweet — with an alternate theory, sharing an article from The Santa Monica Observer that made a series of claims — not the least outrageous of which being that Pelosi had brought DePape home with him from a local gay bar.
“There is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye,” Musk tweeted.
The report published by the Observer appears to be false, however, which may be what ultimately led to Musk deleting the tweet.
Washington Post reporter Isaac Stanley-Becker tweeted, “Incorrect and already retracted reporting by a Fox affiliate in SF and a fake story in the Santa Monica Observer have powered viral misinformation about the Paul Pelosi attack, amplified by a ton of people with huge platforms, including the ‘Chief Twit.'”
Incorrect and already retracted reporting by a Fox affiliate in SF and a fake story in the Santa Monica Observer have powered viral misinformation about the Paul Pelosi attack, amplified by a ton of people with huge platforms, including the "Chief Twit" https://t.co/OvorFjSIQs
— Isaac Stanley-Becker (@isaacstanbecker) October 30, 2022
MSNBC producer Kyle Griffin added, “The ‘outlet’ Elon Musk cited to spread dangerous lies has a history of making conspiratorial, false, and hoax-filled claims — including that Hillary Clinton died during the 2016 campaign and was replaced by a lookalike.”
The 'outlet' Elon Musk cited to spread dangerous lies has a history of making conspiratorial, false, and hoax-filled claims — including that Hillary Clinton died during the 2016 campaign and was replaced by a lookalike.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 30, 2022
Human Events senior editor Jack Posobiec shared a message he said came from “Carpe” — likely the person behind the long-banned Twitter account @CarpeDonktum — who argued whether or not the story Musk tweeted was true wasn’t really the issue. Instead, he said what was important was that an alternate viewpoint — whether it was accurate or not — was allowed to exist on the platform at all.
“I don’t have any idea whether the article Elon shared is accurate or not, that isn’t what’s important. What IS important is that Elon has shown in the most public way imaginable, that Twitter will henceforward be a place where you can post an alternate viewpoint of what is happening in the world today,” the message read.
“For many years now, a post like this would see you banned. The left is terrified that they no longer have the market cornered on disinformation and spin. Now the infowar can REALLY begin.”
Carpe just sent me this pic.twitter.com/7wKKihvHTd
— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) October 30, 2022