diff --git a/federation/entities/activitypub/django/views.py b/federation/entities/activitypub/django/views.py
index e6eb688..18f316b 100644
--- a/federation/entities/activitypub/django/views.py
+++ b/federation/entities/activitypub/django/views.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ from cryptography.exceptions import InvalidSignature
 from django.http import JsonResponse, HttpResponse, HttpResponseNotFound
 
 from federation.entities.activitypub.mappers import get_outbound_entity
-from federation.protocols.activitypub.signing import verify_request_signature
+from federation.protocols.activitypub.protocol import Protocol
 from federation.types import RequestType
 from federation.utils.django import get_function_from_config
 
@@ -23,9 +23,11 @@ def get_and_verify_signer(request):
             body=request.body,
             method=request.method,
             headers=request.headers)
+    protocol = Protocol(request=req,  get_contact_key=get_public_key)
     try:
-        return verify_request_signature(req)
-    except ValueError:
+        protocol.verify()
+        return protocol.sender
+    except (ValueError, KeyError, InvalidSignature) as exc:
         return None
 
 
diff --git a/federation/protocols/activitypub/protocol.py b/federation/protocols/activitypub/protocol.py
index 0302eee..acb762a 100644
--- a/federation/protocols/activitypub/protocol.py
+++ b/federation/protocols/activitypub/protocol.py
@@ -49,6 +49,11 @@ class Protocol:
     sender = None
     user = None
 
+    def __init__(self, request=None, get_contact_key=None):
+        # this is required for calls to verify on GET requests
+        self.request = request
+        self.get_contact_key = get_contact_key
+
     def build_send(self, entity: BaseEntity, from_user: UserType, to_user_key: RsaKey = None) -> Union[str, Dict]:
         """
         Build POST data for sending out to remotes.
@@ -109,10 +114,11 @@ class Protocol:
         signer = get_profile(key_id=sig.get('keyId'))
         if not signer:
             signer = retrieve_and_parse_document(sig.get('keyId'))
+        print(sig, signer)
         self.sender = signer.id if signer else self.actor
         key = getattr(signer, 'public_key', None)
         if not key:
-            key = self.get_contact_key(self.actor) if self.get_contact_key else ''
+            key = self.get_contact_key(self.actor) if self.get_contact_key and self.actor else ''
             if key:
                 # fallback to the author's key the client app may have provided
                 logger.warning("Failed to retrieve keyId for %s, trying the actor's key", sig.get('keyId'))