Suspect in assault at Pelosi home had posted about QAnon conspiracy theories and called president “wicked” in video on social media, court documents say.
A man accused of repeatedly attacking his wife at home and threatening to kill law enforcement officers was arrested Thursday morning for allegedly posting anti-Trump conspiracy theories and videos of himself celebrating the 9/11 attacks, according to documents filed in federal court in Virginia.
The arrest was made by a U.S. Secret Service agent in the basement of the Virginia home of House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is running for reelection on her own turf in California, two people familiar with the case said.
The suspected assailant, John T. Casullo, 50, was arrested in suburban Richmond by a federal agent who was surveilling him, according to a search warrant affidavit prepared by U.S. Secret Service Special Agent Scott Smith. Smith declined to reveal his identity.
Casullo, who has been charged with attempted homicide, is believed to have posted videos of himself celebrating the 9/11 attacks and of the Oklahoma City bombing, according to the affidavit. He had called President Trump “wicked” and “a very dangerous man” online, the affidavit states.
The documents are part of an ongoing investigation of Casullo, who was charged with threatening law enforcement and violating a condition of his release from federal prison in March.
In the affidavit, Smith stated that he was alerted to Casullo’s alleged threats against the Capitol Police and the House speaker by a fellow agent, James R. Sommers. The affidavit says both Sommers and Smith, along with another agent, were stationed in the Capitol during the time that Casullo made the alleged threats.
When Casullo was indicted on attempted murder charges in March, he had allegedly threatened to kill Pelosi and her family.
A criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia said that Casullo had made the threats in December 2018. Casullo allegedly posted on social media about a “New World Order” conspiracy theory, and one of the videos was about a 9/11 conspiracy theory, the complaint said.
In a separate criminal