What was the ‘Pizzagate’ conspiracy theory that Edgar Welch believed in as gunman is killed by police?
Edgar Maddison Welch, who was shot dead by North Carolina police Saturday in a seemingly unrelated incident, stormed Comet Ping Pong pizzeria in Washington D.C. in 2016 with an AR-15 assault rifle
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The “Pizzagate” gunman who sprayed a round of bullets at a pizza restaurant in Washington, D.C. in 2016, after traveling hundreds of miles to “self-investigate” a conspiracy theory, has been shot dead by two police officers at a traffic stop.
Edgar Maddison Welch, of Salisbury, was shot at around 10pm Saturday after he pulled a handgun on two Kannapolis Police officers and failed to back down, according to a Kannapolis Fire and Police Department statement Thursday.
On December 4, 2016, Welch made national headlines when he drove from North Carolina with an assault rifle and stormed Comet Ping Pong pizzeria in Washington after believing an unfounded conspiracy theory that prominent Democrats were behind a child sex trafficking ring operating from inside the pizzeria – no one was injured in the attack.
The hoax fringe theory, dubbed “Pizzagate”, began circulating online during the 2016 presidential election and spiraled to unprecedented lengths, gaining a cult following on alt-right forums, convincing the likes of conservative journalists, and those opposed to Hilary Clinton online. At the time of Welch’s death, the conspiracy theories around the Pizzagate saga extended to rumors that he was the brother of Hailey Welch aka The Hawk Tuah girl.
The Pizzagate theory was propagated by users of 4chan, a message board known for free speech and extreme content, who trolled the internet looking for prominent politicians to tie to the paedophile sex ring allegation and the Comet restaurant.
Consequently, James Alefantis, the then owner of Comet Ping Pong, who had ties to the Democrats, began receiving waves of abuse – making life hell for him and his employees.
In 2020, Pizzagate made a resurgence when the high-profile suicide of child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was announced along with his deep ties to the political establishment.
Even Elon Musk jumped on the bandwagon when he boosted the Pizzagate theory on his platform X, formerly Twitter, in 2023 after facing an advertiser exodus when he embraced an antisemitic conspiracy theory, according to CNN.
Welch, who was 28 at the time of his arrest, was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and then sentenced to four years in prison in June 2017 after he pleaded guilty to interstate transportation of a firearm and ammunition and assault with a dangerous weapon.
His death, nine years later, stemmed from him being pursued for an outstanding arrest warrant. Police identified him while he was driving along North Cannon Boulevard in a gray 2001 GMC Yukon.
“When he opened the door, the front seat passenger pulled a handgun from his jacket and pointed it in the direction of the officer. That officer and a second officer who was standing at the rear passenger side of the Yukon gave commands for the passenger to drop the gun.”
The statement added: “After the passenger failed to comply with their repeated requests, both officers fired their duty weapon at the passenger, striking him.”
Welch was taken to Atrium Health in Charlotte for additional care but succumbed to his injuries Monday, said Kannapolis officials.
As the U.S. steps closer towards a Trump-led ultra-truth era, the world witnesses an expansion from conspiracy movements buried in pockets of the internet like the alt-right to more apolitical groups thanks to the surge and popularity of TikTok – something we may see more of as the future of fact-checking hangs in the balance.