Police Just Confirmed Trump Fan Shot Up Pizzeria Over Fake Anti-Hillary Conspiracy
The “fake news” epidemic that propelled Donald Trump to the White House just took a deadly turn. A 28-year-old white man from North Carolina, Edgar Maddison Welch, began firing an automatic rifle into a pizzeria in Washington D.C based on the outrageous allegations of “#pizzagate.”
“Pizzagate” is a ridiculous and entirely baseless conspiracy theory started by Trump fans who swore they had cracked the code in Clinton campaign chair John Podesta’s emails that revealed a Democratic “satanic child-sex ring” was being held at the Comet Ping Pong pizzeria in Washington.
Image from “theDonald” subreddit.
The conspiracy theory took off on Reddit and on Twitter, leading to a wave of threats and harassment against the pizzeria, owner James Alefantis, the employees, the owners of nearby establishments, the Washington Post reporters who covered the story, and the children of all those involved from rabid right-wingers.
One deranged man decided to make good on his threat. Welsh entered the restaurant and pointed the rifle at an employee, who fled the scene and notified authorities. Welsh then fired shots into the floor of the restaurant. He has been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon. A Colt .38 caliber handgun and a shotgun were also recovered at the scene; one in the shooter’s car and the other inside the restaurant itself.
Trump’s national security advisor and notorious Putinist Gen. Michael Flynn gave credence to the rumors by tweeting out a fake news link that apparently was referring to a different child-sex “scandal” – this one focused on former Democratic congressman Anthony Weiner, who is under investigation for sending explicit messages to a minor – but his son took to Twitter to defend the “pizzagate” connection as if he had.
U decide – NYPD Blows Whistle on New Hillary Emails: Money Laundering, Sex Crimes w Children, etc…MUST READ! https://t.co/O0bVJT3QDr
— General Flynn (@GenFlynn) November 3, 2016
Until #Pizzagate proven to be false, it'll remain a story. The left seems to forget #PodestaEmails and the many "coincidences" tied to it. https://t.co/8HA9y30Yfp
— Michael G Flynn
Colin TaylorOpinion columnist and former editor-in-chief of Occupy Democrats. He graduated from Bennington College with a Bachelor's degree in history and political science. He now focuses on advancing the cause of social justice and equality in America.
Opinion columnist and former editor-in-chief of Occupy Democrats. He graduated from Bennington College with a Bachelor's degree in history and political science. He now focuses on advancing the cause of social justice and equality in America.