Whoever and Whomever (again)

[Jaggers]

"However, he said he would not be intimidated out of his home by whoever was behind the attacks."
This is from the BBC no less.
BBC News - DUP councillor George Duddy's home targeted in second graffiti threat

I would have said that "whomever" was correct in the above sentence.

The reason I would choose "whomever" is akin to the rules for using who/whom, and it being correct to use who where it is a substitute for I, you, he, she etc and whom as a substitute for me, you, him, her etc.

Any views?

 

[charliedeut]

See the first of the "Similar Threads" below for clarification. :up:

 

[Tdol]

I would use whoever. Here, it does come after a preposition, but it is subject of was, which is the reason for my choice, but to be honest I very rarely use whomever.

 

[MikeNewYork]

"However, he said he would not be intimidated out of his home by whoever was behind the attacks."
This is from the BBC no less.
BBC News - DUP councillor George Duddy's home targeted in second graffiti threat

I would have said that "whomever" was correct in the above sentence.

The reason I would choose "whomever" is akin to the rules for using who/whom, and it being correct to use who where it is a substitute for I, you, he, she etc and whom as a substitute for me, you, him, her etc.

Any views?

I agree with Tdol. When a who/whom word is the subject of clause, you need the nominative form, even if the clause is the object of a preposition. This is one of the most difficult aspects of who/whom usage.