Comet Ping Pong "Pizzagate" Suspect Is Expected In Court Tuesday

Comet Ping Pong pizza restaurant in Washington, DC.

Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

WASHINGTON — A judge on Tuesday is expected to decide whether the North Carolina man charged with bringing a rifle and a handgun into a Washington, DC, restaurant in connection with the “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory will remain in jail as the case against him proceeds.

Edgar Welch, 28, allegedly told police that he was investigating unfounded reports that Comet Ping Pong in northwest Washington was harboring child sex slaves when he walked into the restaurant on Dec. 4 in the middle of the afternoon armed with an AR-15 rifle and a .38 caliber handgun.

Welch, a father of two from Salisbury, North Carolina, who listed a grocery store as his employer, has been held at the DC Jail since his arrest. Tuesday’s hearing in DC Superior Court had previously been delayed at the request of Welch’s lawyer.

A witness who was outside when Welch entered the restaurant told police that he heard “three loud bangs” inside and that when he entered the restaurant, Welch swung his rifle towards him. Police said Welch fired shots that hit walls, a door, and a desktop computer. No one was injured.

According to police, Welch surrendered peacefully when he found no evidence of children being held at the restaurant. Welch later told The New York Times that, “The intel on this wasn’t 100 percent,” referring to fake reports online that the restaurant was the site of a child sex slave ring.

Court papers filed by Welch’s lawyer offer an early sign of a defense strategy. In a Dec. 7 letter, public defender Ieshaah Murphy asked prosecutors to turn over any statements from witnesses who said that Welch did not point a gun at anyone. That information would go towards proving Welch’s “lack of intent to harm the employees and patrons of the restaurant,” Murphy wrote.

Tuesday’s hearing was supposed to happen this past week, but was postponed at Murphy’s request. She told the judge that said she needed time to investigate the incident and to allow Welch’s family and friends to make arrangements to travel to Washington. A judge granted the delay over the government’s objection.

Welch faces four charges: assault with a dangerous weapon, carrying a pistol without a license, unlawful discharge of a firearm, and carrying a rifle or shotgun. According to court papers, he tested negative for drugs when he was arrested and had one prior conviction in 2013 for driving while impaired in North Carolina.

Comet Ping Pong and its employees faced harassment in the weeks leading up to the incident as false claims of a child sex slave ring spread online, spurred by hacked emails from Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s account that referenced pizza and restaurant owner James Alefantis’s ties to the Democratic party.

Washingtonians have rallied around Comet Ping Pong since the incident. The restaurant was reportedly packed with supporters over the weekend.

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