Fake news rings alarm bells from restaurant to White House

WASHINGTON (AP) — 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 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 people posting on the conspiracy theory is the son of President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed national security adviser.

On Monday, White House Spokesman Josh Earnest, asked about the shooting, said, “There’s no denying the corrosive effect that some of these false reports have had on our political debate, and that’s concerning in a political context. It’s deeply troubling that some of those false reports could lead to violence.”

Edgar Maddison Welch, 28 of Salisbury, North Carolina, was arrested Sunday afternoon outside the popular eatery in an affluent neighborhood of the nation’s capital, police said. At his initial appearance Monday in D.C. Superior Court, Welch was ordered held pending a hearing scheduled for Thursday. The public defender he was assigned didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Court records made public Monday state Welch fired an AR-15 assault rifle multiple times inside the restaurant but later walked out with his hands up and unarmed, leaving his weapons inside. He 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.” He said he “was armed to help rescue them” and “surrendered peacefully when he found no evidence that underage children were being harbored in the restaurant.”

Welch was charged on multiple counts, including assault with a dangerous weapon. Authorities recovered the AR-15 assault rifle and a handgun from the restaurant, court paperwork said. Police said an additional weapon was recovered from his vehicle.

One of Welch’s friends told The Washington Post she doesn’t think he intended to shoot anyone.

“He most likely really believes the conspiracy theory,” said Kathy Sue Holtorf, 29, who lives in California and works as a film producer. “He’s a good guy with the best of intentions. He probably saw himself as more on a hero mission to save children than anything else.”

Holtorf produced a nine-minute short called “Mute” that was written by Welch and they both appeared as victims of vampires in a slasher movie. She said Welch dabbled, but “never wanted to become an actor.” Holtorf described Welch as “a well-educated man” and “not a conspiracy nut,” saying he would talk about his daughters and how proud he was of them.

His aunt, Tajuana Tadlock, described Welch to The Washington Post as passionate and tenderhearted and a person who loves his family and his children. She said the family hasn’t been able to talk to him so they don’t know “what got him to this level.”