The son of  Paul Pelosi’s alleged attacker, David DePape, has spoken out about his father, saying that he believes in human rights and is “hardly a right-wing conservative.”

DePape’s older son, Nebosvod “Sky” Gonzalez, defended his father after he was accused of assaulting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband in their California home, according to The Daily Mail. 

“He often told us he was raised in an abusive home and would be physically abused by his grandparents,” Gonzalez said. Instead of staying around to take the abuse, DePape would escape to the ocean to swim until the day was over.

The 42-year-old DePape has been charged with first-degree residential burglary, elder abuse, assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder, and threatening family members of public officials in connection with the October 28 hammer-wielding attack on Paul Pelosi. He is due in court Wednesday for his arraignment in San Francisco. 

When he first heard of the attack on Paul Pelosi, Gonzalez was shocked. 

“That’s not the type of person he is,” he said., “I’m surprised about the whole thing. There is still a lot of info that hasn’t been given to the public. I have no clue what happened or how it happened. There are more questions than answers right now. Do we even know what really happened?”” 

DePape’s son reiterated some speculation surrounding the public scandal, saying that his father is not “a danger to society.” 

“I don’t even know if he even attacked Mr. Pelosi. For all that we know he was some sort of sex slave, as Elon Musk pointed out.”  

Gonzalez also spoke about how his father was a loner and didn’t have many friends growing up. Nevertheless, he doesn’t think this was a politically motivated attack. 

“My father had a lot of political views but he didn’t subscribe to either political party, Democrat or Republican,” Gonzalez said. He believed his father was a member of the Green Party.

He went on to explain that his father had “progressive views” on issues such as human rights, equality, justice, and war. He was hardly a right-wing conservative as he has been branded by some media outlets, according to Gonzalez.

Gonzalez has not seen his father in many years, since his parents got into a fight and his mother kicked DePape out of their home. DePape’s former partner Oxane Taub said he had disappeared for a year in the 2010s and is mentally ill.

Gonzalez hopes that the public will have compassion for his father, saying, “I really love my dad and don’t want him to suffer anymore.”