comet ping pong

Edgar Maddison Welch pleaded guilty in March after entering the Comet Ping Pong pizzeria in Washington, D.C., brandishing a rife in order to "investigate" a baseless conspiracy theory.

The radio host apologized for "commentary" urging listeners to investigate a false conspiracy theory involving a Washington, D.C. pizzeria. A man later brought guns there and fired shots inside.

Edgar Maddison Welch accepted a plea deal over his armed confrontation at the Comet Ping Pong restaurant in Washington, D.C., last year. The North Carolina man says he was motivated by online rumors.

Federal investigators say Edgar Welch spent days planning his confrontation at Comet Ping Pong in Washington, D.C., over a rumor linking the restaurant to a child sex ring.

"The epidemic of malicious fake news and fake propaganda that flooded social media over the past year, it's now clear that so-called fake news can have real-world consequences," she said.