In this recent incident, a man from North Carolina, who had previously caused fear among customers at a pizza restaurant in Washington, D.C. in 2016 due to his belief in a conspiracy theory about Democrats running a child sex ring in a basement, met a tragic end. The man, identified as Edgar Maddison Welch, was fatally shot this week after he aimed a gun at police officers during a traffic stop.
The events unfolded as Welch was a passenger in a 2001 GMC Yukon that was pulled over by a Kannapolis police officer on a Saturday night. The officer had noticed the vehicle as one that Welch typically drove and was aware of an outstanding warrant for Welch’s arrest related to a probation violation, as reported by the Charlotte Observer.
Upon the stop, the officer engaged with the driver and identified Welch in the passenger seat, with two more officers arriving at the scene. As the initial officer proceeded to approach the passenger side to apprehend Welch, a critical moment ensued when Welch brandished a handgun, aiming it directly 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.”
