WASHINGTON: The bizarre rumors began with a leaked email referencing Hillary Clinton and sinister interpretations of references to pizza parties. It morphed into fake online news stories about a child sex trafficking ring run by prominent Democrats operating out of a Washington, D.C., pizza joint.
On Sunday, it culminated in violence when police say a North Carolina man fired an assault rifle multiple times inside the Comet Ping Pong restaurant as he attempted to “self-investigate” the conspiracy theory known in the Twitterverse as “Pizzagate.”
No one was hurt and the man was arrested. But the shooting alarmed those from neighboring businesses all the way to the White House about the real-life dangers of fake news on the internet. One of those posting on the conspiracy theory is the son of President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed national security adviser.
White House Spokesman Josh Earnest, asked about the shooting Monday, said, “There’s no denying the corrosive effect that some of these false reports have had on our political debate. ... It’s deeply troubling that some of those false reports could lead to violence.”
Edgar Maddison Welch, 28, of Salisbury, N.C., was arrested Sunday afternoon outside the popular eatery in an affluent capital neighborhood, police said.
At a first appearance Monday in D.C. Superior Court, Welch appeared handcuffed in a white jumpsuit and was ordered held pending a hearing Thursday. A public defender representing him didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Court records released Monday showed that Welch “surrendered peacefully when he found no evidence that underage children were being harbored in the restaurant.”
Comet’s owner, James Alefantis, said in a statement Sunday night: “Let me state unequivocally: These stories are completely and entirely false, and there is no basis in fact to any of them. What happened today demonstrates that promoting false and reckless conspiracy theories comes with consequences.”
Still, at least one person clinging to the conspiracy theories is prominently connected to Trump’s transition team. Michael Flynn Jr. is an adviser to his father, Michael Flynn, whom Trump selected to serve as national security adviser.
Flynn Jr. has sent numerous posts on Twitter about the Pizzagate conspiracy theories. Flynn Jr., who has accompanied his father to presidential transition meetings inside Trump Tower and lists the presidential transition website as part of his Twitter bio, tweeted Sunday night that, “Until #Pizzagate proven to be false, it’ll remain a story.”
Trump’s team had no immediate response to questions about the conspiracy theory or the younger Flynn’s role in the transition.