The North Carolina man who terrorized patrons of a Washington, D.C., pizza restaurant in 2016 because he believed an internet conspiracy theory that Democrats were running a child sex ring in the basement was shot and killed this week when he pointed a gun at police officers during a traffic stop.
Edgar Maddison Welch was riding in the passenger seat of a 2001 GMC Yukon Saturday night when a Kannapolis police officer pulled it over because he recognized it as a vehicle Welch usually drove and he had an outstanding warrant for his arrest for a probation violation, the Charlotte Observer reported.
Police said the officer spoke with the drive and recognized Welch sitting in the passenger seat as two more officers arrived on the scene. The initial officer moved to the passenger door to arrest Welch, but when he opened the door, Welch pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the officer.
The officers ordered Welch to drop the gun, and when he didn’t, two of them fired, striking Welch, who was taken to a hospital and died from his injuries on Monday.
Kannapolis Police identified the officers as Caleb Tate and Brooks Jones and said they were placed on administrative leave while the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation reviews the use of force.
Welch fell for a fake news story, dubbed “Pizzagate” and spread by QAnon, that said leaked email messages between then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her campaign manager were coded messages about the child sex ring and not what they appeared to concern, which was a fundraising event at Comet Ping Pong, which doesn’t have a basement, according to The New York Times.
He decided to drive from North Carolina to Washington to investigate for himself and marched in with a loaded AR-15, which he fired at the door, and searched the restaurant looking for the sex ring, the Observer said.
He ultimately left, after patrons and staff fled in fear, and was arrested. In addition to the AR, he was carrying a revolver and had a shotgun in his vehicle. Welch pleaded guilty to a federal charge of interstate transportation of a firearm and ammunition and a DC charge of assault with a dangerous weapon and was sentenced to four years in prison. He was also given three years supervised release and ordered to receive a mental health evaluation, stay away from the restaurant, and pay nearly $6,000 in restitution for the damage he caused.
He later apologized, telling The New York Times he “just wanted to do some good and went about it the wrong way.”
