Edgar Maddison Welch, the man behind the 2016 “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory attack on Comet Ping Pong in Washington, D.C., died on January 6, 2025, after a confrontation with police in Kannapolis, North Carolina.
Welch wrongly believed the restaurant was a front for a child trafficking ring tied to high-profile political figures like Hillary Clinton. He drove from North Carolina to D.C. with guns, terrifying the patrons trying to enjoy a slice. His actions were, of course, fueled by a variety of amoral right-wing conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones, Mike Cernovich, and Jack Posobiec. Even the creator of Minecraft got in on it.
On January 4, 2025, Welch was pulled over by police when an officer recognized his vehicle, knowing its owner had an outstanding warrant. Welch pulled a gun on the officers, who responded in kind. They shot him and he died two days later. The officers involved have been placed on administrative leave.
While it’s easy to despise this guy, never lose sight of the fact that thousands of other men out there are currently being manipulated by egregious lies and conspiracy theories that have no basis in reality by the very same people who influenced Welch. Jones, Cernovich, and Posobiec are all still thriving to varying degrees, all on X/Twitter, thanks to Elon Musk converting the town square into a bubbling cauldron of shit.
Men like Welch who commit acts like “Pizzagate” aren’t created in a vacuum, especially nowadays. All they have to do is log on to their favorite social media site, open wide, and passively ingest post after post of fear-mongering paranoia churned out by people who make money off the hate and fear they create.
Lament the existence of people like Welch all you want, but he’s just the product of a massive machine designed to create people exactly like him.
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