Prosecution and defense argue whether the Comet Ping Pong assailant should be released from custody.
On December 3rd, 2016, 28-year-old Edgar Welch entered a Comet Ping Pong pizza place carrying with him an assault rifle to investigate the locale rumored to be a child trafficking hotspot. The fake news flooded the social media under hashtag PizzaGate during the presidential campaign, claiming Hillary Clinton and her campaign chief to be the head of the operation.
In light of these events, Edgar Welsh took it upon himself to investigate the rumors. However, when he arrived at Comet Ping Pong, he did not find any clear signs of child abuse. Witnesses immediately alerted the local authorities who surrounded the place shortly after they received the call.
Mr. Welsh fired at least one shot while inside the restaurant. However, according to the owner, James Alefantis, the shots were not fired while customers or employees were inside. Furthermore, Mr. Welsh did not aim the shots at them. Instead, he shot at a computer and a closet, as Mr. Alefantis states.
Edgar Welsh was taken into custody the same day and Comet Pin Pong was closed the next day, as the FBI launched an investigation into the matter. Today, the perpetrator is facing both local, as well as federal gun charges. While the prosecution argues that Edgar Welsh is an extremely dangerous individual and should remain behind bars, the defense attorney will plead for Mr. Welsh’s release on Friday, December 16th.
According to the local authorities, Edgar Welsh targeted the pizza place after he came in contact with several conspiracy theories, stating that Comet Ping Pong is the source of child trafficking led by prominent Democrats.
State officials say that the Salisbury resident also asked some of his friends to join him before heading to Washington to take matters into his own hands. A string of text messages between Mr. Welsh and his girlfriend, only known as M.R. indicates that the man left without her knowing around 8:42 in the morning of the attack.
Another text message discovered by the investigators shows what was going through the assailant’s mind when he headed for the pizza place:
“Raiding a pedo ring, possibly sacrificing the lives of a few for the lives of many”, reads a message from Mr. Welsh to one of his friends listed only as “C.”
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