Unfair Park from p8 Here are the facts we have so far. DePape allegedly broke in through a glass door of the Pelosi home and made his way up to the bedroom to find Paul Pelosi, ac- cording to CNN. Interim San Francisco District Attor- ney Brooke Jenkins said at a press confer- ence that’s when DePape woke Paul Pelosi up, asking where his wife was. According to Jenkins, Paul Pelosi then tried to get to an elevator in the house. He eventually asked DePape if he could use the bath- room. Inside the bathroom, Paul Pelosi called 911. Sources told the Los Angeles Times that Paul Pelosi left the line open to try to signal to the 911 dispatch what was happening. Heather Grives, the dispatcher, relayed some of what she heard on the call to police, who would arrive minutes later. “There’s a male in the home happened during the Pelosi home break-in. Walsh’s post also said it was absurd to sug- gest the attacker was motivated by right- wing political rhetoric. This came as Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, shared a link to an article falsely claiming Friday’s attack was the result of a dispute between Paul Pelosi and a male sex worker. This fabrication came from a site that falsely claimed in 2016 that the Hillary Clinton seen on the campaign trail was a body double and the real Hillary Clinton was dead. Musk later deleted his post that shared and that he’s going to wait for his wife,” the dispatcher told police, according to the Los Angeles Times. They then told police the man who called “doesn’t know who the male is, but he advised that his name is David and then [said] he is a friend.” She also said the caller sounded confused. According to the arrest affidavit, the po- lice found Paul Pelosi and DePape at the home when they arrived. “When the door was opened, Pelosi and DePape were both holding a hammer with one hand and DePape had his other hand holding onto Pelosi’s forearm,” the affidavit said. “Pelosi greeted the officers. The offi- cers asked them what was going on. DePape responded that everything was good. Offi- cers then asked Pelosi and DePape to drop the hammer.” That’s when DePape allegedly pulled the hammer away from Paul Pelosi and struck his head. After the hit, Paul Pelosi “appeared to be unconscious on the ground,” according to the affidavit. Police then apprehended DePape, and Paul Pelosi was taken to the hospital for his injuries. He reportedly had a skull fracture and serious injuries to his hands and right arm. DePape told police he was there for Speaker Nancy Pelosi, with plans to take her hostage and talk to her. If she told him the truth, he would let her go. If she lied, he would break her kneecaps. He also told po- lice Nancy Pelosi was the “leader of the pack” of Democratic Party lies and that he was sure she wouldn’t tell him the truth. Po- lice found that DePape had brought zip ties, tape, rope and at least one hammer to the break in. News outlets have reported that a blog believed to belong to DePape includes posts expressing far-right political views like Ho- locaust denialism and the idea that the last election was stolen from Trump. But right- wing figures have shared and made com- ments that seem to downplay the attack and muddy the waters of what we know about it. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz shared a post by the 10 far-right podcaster and self-described “theocratic fascist” Matt Walsh suggesting “none of us will ever know for sure” what BUT RIGHT WING FIGURES HAVE SHARED AND MADE COMMENTS THAT SEEM TO DOWNPLAY THE ATTACK... the article. On the website in place of the false article about the Pelosi attack is a re- traction with an update. It reads, “The origi- nal version of this article, which I presented as opinion and not a statement of proven facts, has been removed from our website at the request of the prosecutor’s office.” Caroline Werner, Collin County Democratic chair, told the Observer she wasn’t sur- prised by Republicans’ response to the Pelosi attack. “I think it’s just a continuation of a really vi- olent, dangerous rhetoric that they’ve had for years at this point,” Werner said. Werner cited a fundraising letter sent out by Gov. Greg Abbott days before the El Paso mass shooting that supported the need to defend the country from illegal im- migration. The El Paso shooter’s hate-filled manifesto mentioned the need to end a “Hispanic invasion,” according to The Texas Tribune. “I think this is something that’s been happening, and it’s going to continue to hap- pen if the Republicans don’t tamp down the violence that they’re advocating for,” Wer- ner said. “I’m disappointed that it continues to happen, that we continue to see them brushing things off as a joke. I’m not sur- prised, but I’m disappointed because I was hoping they would be better than that.” ▼ CITY HALL A QUIET PROCESS D DALLAS LOOKS TO MUFFLE THE NOISE AT LOVE FIELD. SOME SAY THE PROCESS IS RUSHED. BY JACOB VAUGHN uring the day, Grant Kinser can usu- ally hear “screaming, small jets” whizzing through the sky, coming and going from Dallas Love Field Airport. Kinser said recently he heard one around 1:30 a.m. “You bet your bottom dollar I put in a noise complaint about that,” he said. Dallas has a voluntary noise abatement program that’s intended to help make Love Field quieter. But, residents like Kinser who live near the airport still have plenty of complaints about the noise. The city is working on changes to the program that could lead to improvements, but some feel they’ve been left out of the process and that it’s been rushed. Kinser, for one, said he hadn’t heard the program was getting an update until the Observer called and asked him about it. A city memo details several questions from residents participating in the stake- Rick Gershon/Getty Images holder process and the city’s response. Many of them said the same thing — the process feels rushed and needs more com- munity engagement. But, the city says it’s going to take the time to hear everyone out before coming up with changes to the pro- gram. Those changes would then be passed on to City Council for consideration. The city hasn’t reviewed its voluntary noise abatement program for 30 years. Dallas’ department of aviation is moni- tored by the Federal Aviation Administra- tion to ensure compliance with all regulations. The city’s first noise abate- ment program was approved in 1986 after residents near Love Field complained about all of the noise and decided to orga- nize. Despite these efforts, complaints about the noise have continued to flood into the city. Nearly 3,800 complaints were sent to the city in two three-month periods last year. The tentative schedule for the changes included one meeting to brainstorm ideas following, as one resident put it in their question to the city, “very sparse advance neighborhood engagement – most of which has been on the part of the individ- ual stakeholders and not sponsored by the city of Dallas.” But the city’s aviation department doesn’t have any plans to rush the process and says there’s no set deadline for the changes yet. “A reasonable schedule was developed to ensure adequate time was spent to consider modifications to the existing Voluntary Noise Program and most effectively use available resources,” the city said in the memo. “If additional time/meetings are needed to reach consensus on recommenda- tions from the stakeholder group, then that can be accommodated.” Some said that successful noise abate- ment programs in other parts of the country involved a robust community engagement process and Dallas’ should too. “The city has no plans to ‘rush’ the stakeholder process,” the memo said. “It is important to note that this engagement extends to all those affected, not just the neighborhoods that surround Love Field. Residents near Love Field say the noise is still an issue. As development continues to encroach on the airport, there must be a balance be- tween the residents that live near the air- port and the economic impact of having a convenient airport with over 40 non-stop destinations that drive much of the city’s economic vibrancy.” The airport supports over 10,000 jobs, according to the city. Residents also said they believed Dallas should wait to update the program until new noise data from the airport is collected and considered. Discussions are also taking place at the federal level about how the FAA manages noisy airports. Some say the city should wait to see what comes of these talks before moving forward with changes to its program. The city, however, says it will always fol- low federal aviation regulations, so if the FAA makes a change, Dallas’ program would have to change with it. Additionally, the city says it has plenty of noise data from the airport already, so there’s no reason to wait for more. As for the community engagement, the city says it has taken part in discussions with residents and others for years in search of ways to mitigate the noise coming from Love Field, and it will continue to do so. “Opportunities for improving airport operations and enhancements to the efforts by the airport to mitigate the impact of noise have been ongoing for years,” the city said. “The Love Field Environmental Advi- sory Committee has been meeting quar- terly for decades and have made several recommendations to improvements to the Voluntary Noise Abatement Program. The current stakeholder process to make addi- tional modifications is a continuation of that commitment.” Kinser said he wants the airport to be successful, but he also wants to be able to coexist with it. “Don’t get me wrong, I love Love Field,” he said. “I wish they’d make a lot of money for the city, but, you know, if they’d just help a neighbor out with the noise, it’d be even better.” NOVEMBER 10–16, 2022 DALLAS OBSERVER CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | CULTURE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS dallasobserver.com
