The Deadly Cost of Propaganda and Conspiracy Theories
A figure in the QAnon Pizzagate hoax loses his life
If you’re relatively new to the issues related to Kremlin propaganda and how it’s affecting other countries (including the United States), I recommend reading some background posts I wrote that explains things in more detail along with links to other sites where you can read more to educate yourself.
QAnon is a far-right wing conspiracy theory group whose ideas to outsiders could be considered bizarre. I wrote about some of them in my basic intro post to QAnon last year so you may want to check it out if you're unfamiliar with who they are and what they stand for. QAnon is pro-Trump and one of their theories states that Donald Trump is taking on the cabal behind the international ring of child sex slaves. (Never mind the fact that one of his rape accusers had claimed in a lawsuit that she was only 13 when Trump allegedly raped her. Or that he was such close friends with the late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and he was a regular at Epstein's parties.)
If you become the target of a QAnon conspiracy theory, your life becomes a total hell, as the owner of a local Washington, DC business known as Comet Ping Pong learned first-hand. Comet Ping Pong is a pizzeria that also has a room full of ping pong tables so customers can have the option of playing a round or two of table tennis either before or after they eat their pizzas.
In 2016 Comet Ping Pong became internationally famous for the wrong reason. QAnon had spread this horrible rumor about how the pizzeria was actually a front for a child sex slave ring that was operated by Hillary Clinton and other top Democratic leaders, which was operated from the pizzeria's basement. This rumor about the child sex slaves kept in the basement of a pizzeria, which was dubbed Pizzagate, kept on being spread despite the fact that Comet Ping Pong is located in a building that doesn't even have a basement.
A QAnon follower living in North Carolina named Edgar Maddison Welch was so incensed by what he read online that he decided to drive to DC with his weapons, just like the one he posed with in the photo below, in order to “investigate” the story.
He stormed into Comet Ping Pong with an assault rifle and fired inside. No injuries were reported and he was promptly arrested. Police found additional weapons inside of his car. Welch was sentenced to four years in prison in 2017.
Welch later told The New York Times “I just wanted to do some good and went about it the wrong way … I regret how I handled the situation.” Welch also admitted that he was once a registered Republican but he didn’t vote for either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, although he told the Times that he was praying that Trump takes the country in the right direction. Welch also told the Times that he was not only a follower of QAnon but he was a regular listener of Alex Jones’ InfoWars show where Jones peddled conspiracy theories on a regular basis.
Welch returned to North Carolina after his release but his stint in prison didn't deter him from giving up his weapons or staying out of trouble. Last Saturday in Kannapolis, North Carolina Welch was sitting in the passenger side of a gray 2001 GMC Yukon when the vehicle was pulled by a police officer who recognized the vehicle as belonging to Welch and he also knew that Welch had an outstanding warrant for his arrest for a felony probation violation. (I wasn't able to figure out if that probation violation was related to his conviction regarding the incident at Comet Ping Pong or not.) The driver pulled the vehicle over and two more officers arrived soon afterwards. When one of the officers attempted to arrest Welch, Welch pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the officer. The police ordered Welch to drop his gun and when he refused to do so, police shot him. Welch died from his injuries two days later at the age of 36.
It looks like Welch really didn't learn much from his previous misadventure at Comet Ping Pong and it's yet another lesson in FAFO. This is what you get for carrying weapons, breaking the law, and believing in conspiracy theories. In addition to his family, he left behind this IMDb page, which lists him as a crew member on a couple of films and as an actor and writer on the 2011 short film Mute.
Meanwhile Comet Ping Pong is still in business and it continues to serve pizza and provide ping pong tables for customers to use.
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