Man With Rifle Arrested At Pizzeria Targeted By Pro-Trump Conspiracy Theory
Fake News Story Alleged That Comet Ping Pong Was Home To Chid Abuse Ring Led By Hillary Clinton
A man carrying an assault rifle was arrested Sunday afternoon at a popular D.C. pizzeria that recently became the target of a pro-Trump, anti-Clinton conspiracy theory.Â
The man was arrested at Comet Ping Pong on Connecticut Avenue in Northwest Washington after police received a report of a man with a weapon shortly after 3 p.m., according to The Washington Post. The restaurant featuring ping-pong tables is especially popular among families. No shots were fired.Â
The owner of Comet Ping Pong and his employees recently began receiving threats after the restaurant became the subject of a fake news story alleging it was the home base of a child abuse ring led by Hillary Clinton and campaign chair John Podesta, The New York Times reported.Â
The fake story, which became known as #Pizzagate, alleged that Clinton and Podesta kidnapped, molested and trafficked kids in the back of the restaurant. The story went viral on Facebook and several right-wings sites, even prompting the fact-checking site Snopes to debunk it.Â
Fake news + real guns https://t.co/IZFvMWvz1Q
— Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) December 4, 2016
If I’m not mistaken, the PizzaGate hoax actually dates back to 2011 — on Brietbart.
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) December 4, 2016
Delusional right wing #PizzaGate crazies now progressing to violent action against innocent people. @washingtonpost
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) December 4, 2016
Apparently the #PizzaGate psychos are now going to take the law into their own hands. @RamirezReports @DCPoliceDept @wusa9
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) December 4, 2016
a man was just arrested with a gun at comet pizzeria, the target of an anti-Clinton/pro-Trump conspiracy theory. https://t.co/Ri9PnNXfAr
— Mazel Tov Cocktail (@AdamSerwer) December 4, 2016
We know a gunman was there, and we know there was a conspiracy theory, we don’t know the two are connected yet https://t.co/tYIa5KIftH
— Mazel Tov Cocktail (@AdamSerwer) December 4, 2016
Fake news nearly got people killed today https://t.co/Zk6gcOUySs
— Blake Hounshell (@blakehounshell) December 4, 2016
Check out the Trump fans in this thread, cheering for the guy who apparently wanted to murder innocent people. https://t.co/2Z4y84blYq
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) December 4, 2016
This is what Trump backers were creating while the New York Times was obsessing over Hillary’s emails. https://t.co/thtexL0VL7
— Jamison Foser (@jamisonfoser) December 4, 2016
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