D.C. Police arrest suspect with an assault rifle at Comet Ping Pong restaurant

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Last edited Mon Dec 5, 2016, 01:17 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: Washington Post

D.C. Police arrest suspect with an assault rifle at Comet Ping Pong restaurant

By Susan Svrluga and Faiz Siddiqui December 4 at 6:05 PM

http://twitter.com/SusanSvrluga
http://twitter.com/faizsays

A North Carolina man was arrested Sunday after he walked into a popular pizza restaurant in Northwest Washington carrying an assault rifle and fired one or more shots, D.C. police said. The man told police he had come to the restaurant to self-investigate an election-related conspiracy theory involving Hillary Clinton that spread online during her presidential campaign.

The incident caused panic, with several businesses going into lockdown as police swarmed the neighborhood after receiving the call shortly before 3 p.m. ... Police said 28-year-old Edgar Maddison Welch, of Salisbury, N.C., walked in the front door of Comet Ping Pong and pointed a firearm in the direction of a restaurant employee. The employee was able to flee and notify police. Police said Welch proceeded to discharge the rifle inside the restaurant.
....

Police initially said it was unclear what the motive for the shooting was but many in the neighborhood had suspected it might be related to PizzaGate. ... The popular family restaurant, near Connecticut and Nebraska avenues NW in the Chevy Chase neighborhood, was swept up in the onslaught of fake news and conspiracy theories that was prevalent during the presidential campaign. The restaurant, its owner, staff and nearby businesses have been attacked on social media and received death threats.
....

The restaurants owner and employees were threatened on social media in the days before the election after fake news stories circulated claiming that then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and her campaign chief were running a child sex ring from the restaurants back rooms. Even Michael Flynn, a retired general who President-elect Donald Trump has tapped to advise him on national security, shared the stories. None of them were true. But the fake stories and threats persisted, some even aimed at the employees children. The restaurants owner was forced to contact the FBI, local police, Facebook and other social media platforms in an effort to remove the articles.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2016/12/04/d-c-police-respond-to-report-of-a-man-with-a-gun-at-comet-ping-pong-restaurant/

---

I gather this is distinct from yesterday's incident at Cafe Ping Pong:

Fake news, real bullets: Suspect with rifle arrested at DC restaurant named in Pizzagate story
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028331700

[elleng]

1. Haven't heard of either.

[Recursion]

17. It's near the Cathedral, up Wisconsin

Great pizza place.

[elleng]

19. Gotcha! May visit 'down the road.'

Near Cactus Cantina? Old Zebra Room?

[Recursion]

21. Sort of, it's actually over on Connecticut now that I think of it

Take Wisconsin to Nebraska and it's right where that hits CT.

[elleng]

23. OH, CLOSER to my old neighborhood, and Politics and Prose!

[Recursion]

24. Yeah, like two doors down from P&P

I love that whole area

[elleng]

25. So do I, ChCh DC!

It's Pence's neighborhood now! Imagine that!

I visit Avalon Theatre when I can. Theater was 'rescued' by the neighborhood some years ago.

IF I decide I should return to the City, that's where I'd like to go.

[lunasun]

2. This is the Clinton Pizza Conspiracy place this fake news has consequences as does Trump lies

The restaurant has been the subject of death threats originating from a false right-wing conspiracy theory alleging that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and campaign chairman John Podesta ran a child sex trafficking ring in the back of the restaurant.

There is no evidence of the disturbing claim, but it quickly spread through fake news stories on right-wing websites and circulated on social media. Among those tweeting a spurious story alleging Clinton’s “sex crimes” to his more than 100,000 followers, was Gen. Mike Flynn, President-elect Donald Trump’s appointee for national security adviser.

[IronLionZion]

4. our new national security advisor

is a threat to people's security and sanity

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

33. Is that like our new Education Secretary?

... She's a big threat to public education.

[IronLionZion]

3. Make news fake again?

Even that bastard general Flynn shared these obviously fake news stories. He should be charged with inciting violence or slander or something.

This is getting out of control. People are going to die because of this BS.

I've driven past Comet many times on my way home from work. It could happen anywhere, to anyone. There are a lot of angry paranoid people with guns out there just looking for an excuse to shoot someone.

[LisaL]

12. Yes, this is getting serious.

People could end up killed over these fake news.

[Hoyt]

5. Another one of those responsible gun fanciers we hear about.

[TygrBright]

6. And there are STILL morons perpetuating the "#pizzagate" meme...

Check out some of the tweets at the end of this later article from WaPo:

N.C. man told police he went to D.C. pizzeria with assault rifle to ‘self-investigate’ election-related conspiracy theory

WTF is WRONG with these people?

ARE they people?

Or is SkyNet in charge already and these are bots?

Is it part of some operation targeted at escalating the noise to the point where there's no actual signal left?

disgustedly,
Bright

[Skittles]

7. a stupid gun humper

imagine that

[mahatmakanejeeves]

8. The story was updated and renamed at about 9:45.

"N.C. man told police he went to D.C. pizzeria with assault rifle to ‘self-investigate’ election-related conspiracy theory"

Last month, citing its policy against posting the personal information of others, Reddit banned the “pizzagate” topic. ... But it didn’t stop the harassment, and nearby businesses have received threats as well, according to police. On Sunday, Washington Post reporters involved in this article were the target of online threats shortly after it posted.

Matt Carr, the owner of the Little Red Fox market and coffee shop, said his business started getting threats last weekend. They got 30 to 40 calls before they stopped answering calls from blocked numbers, he said. “One person said he wanted to line us up in front of a firing squad,” said Carr, who spent more than an hour in lockdown with his employees Sunday.

The threats were all tied to the Comet Ping Pong accusations online, he said. “There’s some old painted-over symbol on the marquee that they claim is an international symbol of pedophilia and that there are underground tunnels. .?.?. There’s some video on YouTube that has almost 100,000 views and talks about me, the owner of the Little Red Fox, by name. ... “This was our worst fear,” he said, “that someone would read all this and come to the block with a gun. And today it happened.”
....

D.C. Council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3) was getting gas down the street from Comet Ping Pong and saw what she described as intense police activity around the restaurant. Cheh said she spoke with Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D), who had been briefed by police. At the time she spoke to reporters, Cheh didn’t know the gunman’s actions were connected to the false rumors surrounding Comet Ping Pong, but she was concerned. ... “It’s very, very worrisome,” Cheh said. “I’m just very worried that {the rumors} may have unleashed people who are unstable to pursue violent action, as has happened before.”
....

Steve Hendrix and Valerie Strauss contributed to this report.

http://twitter.com/faizsays
http://twitter.com/SusanSvrluga

[AngryAmish]

9. So they are not paedophiles?

That is what I gather.

[kwassa]

10. This was the site of DC's first Thai restaurant, Thai Room.

where I ate over a decade ago. They closed and became Comet Ping Pong.

There are many Thai restaurants now.

[LisaL]

11. It looks like there is evidence that he actually fired the gun.

"Police say there is evidence fired his weapon inside the restaurant. They also say he had another weapon in his car nearby."

http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/conspiracy-theory-brings-gunman-to-northwest-pizza-shop/362944796

[Judi Lynn]

13. The idiot imagined he'd just get right to the bottom of this ring of vicious criminals

had had read so much about in the Right Wing "News."

He's not bright enough to be insane.

[LisaL]

14. This place has been subjected to on-line harassment and now the guy actually went there with a gun.

"When Mr. Alefantis discovered that his employees were getting similar abusive messages, he looked online to unravel the accusations. He found dozens of made-up articles about Mrs. Clinton kidnapping, molesting and trafficking children in the restaurant’s back rooms. The articles appeared on Facebook and on websites such as The New Nationalist and The Vigilant Citizen, with one headline blaring: “Pizzagate: How 4Chan Uncovered the Sick World of Washington’s Occult Elite.”"

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/21/technology/fact-check-this-pizzeria-is-not-a-child-trafficking-site.html

[lonestarnot]

15. I hope he gets a bunch of time to think (if he's capable) fucking de de dee. He should never have

another weapon in his possession.

[Archae]

16. Any bets this guy already has a police record?

Drunk and disorderly, DUI, shoplifting, etc...

[mahatmakanejeeves]

18. What On Earth Is Pizzagate And How Did It Result In Gunfire At Comet Ping Pong?

What On Earth Is Pizzagate And How Did It Result In Gunfire At Comet Ping Pong?

by Nathan Tempey in News on Dec 5, 2016 3:35 pm

A popular D.C. pizzeria and a number of surrounding businesses are being inundated with death threats because of a mushrooming online conspiracy theory accusing them of being at the center of an international child trafficking ring tied to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, satanism, and punk bands. How did this happen? As what's being called Pizzagate shows, when the right conditions are present, the web can be used to perpetuate wildly irresponsible nonsense that has very real world effects.

The theory of the Pizzagate true believers is a work in progress, but the gist is that close allies of Hillary Clinton are using secret areas of Chevy Chase's Comet Ping Pong to rape children as part of a broader child trafficking operation in which "pizza" is used as code for kids. It first appeared on the politics message board of 4chan, a hive of internet trolling, metastasized on the biggest pro-Donald Trump subreddit, served as a convenient distraction for institutions loyal to Turkish President Recep Erdogan, and is now percolating on forums across the internet, as self-identified "investigators" comb the web for further clues. In the process, the frenzied pedo-truthers have published the personal information of numerous private citizens and bombarded their social media accounts, homes, and places of business with graphic threats.

There have also been in-person confrontations. Last month, an operative with the group Citizens for Trump was kicked out of the restaurant at the center of the speculation, Comet Ping Pong Pizza, for Periscoping his visit, which he prefaced by asking his companion, "Do you think we're going to survive? I don't know." In a video uploaded several days later, protesters stood out front and owner James Alefantis answered their questions, and offered them coffee and a tour of the business, which has ping pong tables and a family party room in the back.

The stakes escalated dramatically yesterday afternoon, when D.C. police arrested a North Carolina man after he allegedly walked into Comet Pizza with a semi-automatic rifle to "self-investigate" the theory, pointed the gun at an employee, and fired at least one shot. There were no reported injuries.

"Periscoping his visit":

"uploaded several days later":

[yellowcanine]

20. Did they check his phone for text messages from General Flynn?

Just sayin'

[LanternWaste]

22. Between FR and JPR, many posts are hoping/predicting it was a false-flag.

Between FR and JPR, many posts are hoping/predicting it was a false-flag to better color another trendy, sodium-free conspiracy found on t-shirts everywhere. Bless their little half-witted, idiotic hearts.

[Nevernose]

29. In small defense of JPR:

This is the text at the top of their discussion page:

All pizzagate CT posts will automatically be removed. Period. Anyone who continues to post this particular conspiracy theory takes the chance of being suspended.

[awoke_in_2003]

34. Yep- the admins

are shutting the bogus stories down

[raging moderate]

26. Michael Flynn should know better.

The fact that Michael Flynn has spread these false rumors should be published widely.

[applegrove]

27. My god. When will the GOP wake up. A compelling lie that herds people into

becoming a weapon is the work of psychopaths.

[Eugene]

28. Armed man charged after 'self-investigating' pizzagate conspiracy

Source: The Guardian

Armed man charged after 'self-investigating' pizzagate conspiracy

Edgar Welch was charged Monday with four offenses after firing
three shots at Comet Ping Pong, which a fake news story had
alleged ran a child sex ring

Les Carpenter in Washington
Monday 5 December 2016 23.25 GMT

The man who brought a gun into a pizza restaurant to “self-investigate” a series of fake news stories was charged Monday with four offenses, including assault with a deadly weapon and carrying a pistol without a license.

The US attorney’s office for the District of Columbia also charged Edgar Welch, 28, of Durham, North Carolina with the unlawful discharge of a firearm and carrying a rifle or a shotgun outside a home or place of business. He is being detained until a preliminary hearing in DC superior court on Thursday.

On Sunday afternoon, Welch walked into Comet Ping Pong, a popular pizza spot in the Chevy Chase neighborhood, wielding a shotgun and fired three shots, according to the charging documents. Comet has been part of a bizarre fake news conspiracy that drew unsubstantiated links between the Hillary Clinton campaign and a fictitious child sex ring, which the stories said were being run from secret tunnels beneath the restaurant.

Police said that Welch had gone into Comet to “self-investigate” the restaurant. Welch told police he had “read online that the Comet restaurant was harboring child sex slaves and that he wanted to see for himself if they were there”, according to the charging document. He said he was armed to help rescue them. And police said he “surrendered peacefully when he found no evidence that underage children were being harbored in the restaurant”.

Welch is one of several people who have come to the area searching for the supposed tunnels in recent days. The difference is that he brought a gun that charging documents say he pointed at at least one police officer on Sunday, before he was led onto the street outside and arrested.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/05/washington-pizza-child-sex-ring-fake-news-man-charged

[mahatmakanejeeves]

30. Alleged Comet Ping Pong Gunman Says He Gave Himself Up After Finding No Evidence Of Pizzagate

Alleged Comet Ping Pong Gunman Says He Gave Himself Up After Finding No Evidence Of Pizzagate

by Rachel Kurzius in News on Dec 6, 2016 10:24 am

The alleged Comet Ping Pong gunman gave himself up to police after he found no evidence of child trafficking in the Chevy Chase pizzeria, according to the criminal complaint following his first appearance at D.C. Superior Court on Monday evening.

Edgar Maddison Welch came from North Carolina to "self-investigate" the already-disproven claims, known online as "Pizzagate," which have led to harassment and threats for Comet Ping Pong and neighboring businesses. ... Welch allegedly entered the pizzeria with an AR-15 on Sunday afternoon. He pointed it at an employee, who escaped to call police, and fired three shots, according to MPD.

While employees and customers fled the Connecticut Ave. restaurant, Welch searched the basement for signs that Hillary Clinton and other Democratic elites are running a Satanic child trafficking ring, based on online slander that began shortly before the election. After finding nothing, Welch surrendered to police outside. ... He was charged with four gun-related offenses on Monday and remains in custody. He has a preliminary hearing this Thursday at 9 a.m.
....

Some might think that what happened Sunday could throw cold water on Pizzagate—after all, someone investigated and found no proof of a Satanic sex ring. But already, other theorists are convinced that Welch is just another part of the conspiracy. ... And it's not only anonymous internet trolls who subscribe to the theory. Michael G. Flynn, the son of President-elect Donald Trump's pick for national security adviser, tweeted on Sunday that "Until #Pizzagate proven to be false, it'll remain a story." ... Since then, he has been retweeting accounts calling Welch a "crisis actor" and doubling down on the disproven theory. He has an official government transition email address. Vice President-elect Mike Pence said today that Flynn Jr. “has no involvement in the transition whatsoever.”

[0rganism]

31. toting an assault rifle through a restaurant and comes out unscathed -- white guy, right?

hell, if you're the wrong color you could be shot for holding a fucking pizza
"Ladies and gentlement of the jury, this supposed 'victim' obviously presented a clear threat to officers. Have you ever had fresh pizza? That cheese is really hot, and can cause serious burns; furthermore, we have vest-cam footage of the subject preparing to hurl dangerous slices at officers."

[Paladin]

32. +1. Black lives don't matter. (nt)

[awoke_in_2003]

35. And he actually fired said gun. nt

[ManiacJoe]

36. Obeyed police orders.