A North Carolina man arrested with an assault rifle at a Washington, D.C., restaurant Sunday told authorities he wanted to investigate for himself an online conspiracy that targeted the establishment in a fake news story, the Washington Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement.
Spokeswoman Aquita Brown said police detained the 28-year-old man from Salisbury, North Carolina. The deputy mayor for public safety and justice said on Twitter the suspect has been identified as Edgar Maddison Welch.
“During a post arrest interview this evening, the suspect revealed that he came to the establishment to self-investigate ‘Pizza Gate’ (a fictitious online conspiracy theory),” the Police Department said in a statement.
Police said Welch has been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon.
Two firearms were recovered inside the restaurant and an additional weapon was recovered from the suspect's vehicle, police said.
"Pizza Gate" is a name given to the online false news stories begun last month. The false reports alleged that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her campaign chairman, John Podesta, were involved in a child sex operation at the restaurant, CNN reported. Owner James Alefantis has denied the accusations, but they continue to linger online. Alefantis and employees said they were repeatedly threatened on social media, CNN reported.
When Welch entered the restaurant Sunday he allegedly pointed the rifle in the direction of an employee, who was able to flee and notify authorities, police said. Patrons inside the restaurant rushed out of the building.
Nobody was hurt, police said.
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