A North Carolina man told police Sunday he went to a pizzeria in Washington D.C. with an assault rifle to "self-investigate" conspiracy theories that Hillary Clinton and her campaign chief were running a sex sting operation from the restaurant, Politico reports.
Edgar Maddison Welch, 28, of Salisbury, North Carolina, told police that, "During a post-arrest interview this evening, the suspect revealed that he came to the (Comet Ping Pong) establishment to self-investigate 'Pizza Gate' (an online conspiracy theory)," according to The Washington Post.
Interim D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said one or more shots were fired but that no one was injured.
The restaurant had recently revamped security for music shows at the venue following online harassment.
“Comet Ping Pong, like any respectable venue, is dedicated to creating a safe and inviting space for all of our concert-goers,” Comet Ping Pong wrote on its Facebook page on December 1. “There have been no hostile situations at the venue, and we do not anticipate any altercations as much of the harassment has occurred online, but as a precaution we now have security and police present at every show.”
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