David DePape’s dark journey from Obama backer to QAnon extremist accused in Pelosi attack

RICHMOND, Calif. — To co-workers who knew David DePape a few years ago, he was a gentle, quiet carpenter who liked to watch the “Game of Thrones” and “Stranger Things” series and brought sunflower seeds to his worksite to feed birds and squirrels.

“Everybody liked him,” said Frank Ciccarelli, 76, a carpenter who employed DePape in the Bay Area.

But when DePape began talking about politics, his outlook grew darker, they said.

“It was right-wing, all the way down the line,” Ciccarelli said. “He thought climate change was a hoax and Hillary Clinton is running a pedophile ring out of a pizza parlor. It was so ridiculous that it was hard to take seriously.”

Ciccarelli and others in DePape’s life were stunned when he was arrested for allegedly attacking Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in what authorities said was a plot to kidnap and torture the lawmaker.

Since his arrest two weeks ago, much attention has been made of his extremist, antisemitic rantings and apparent belief in far-right conspiracy theories.

But interviews with those who knew him for years presents