In another example of why conspiracy theories aren’t just harmless fun, a man threatened a pizza place with an assault rifle yesterday because of “pizzagate.”
In case you aren’t on Reddit or 4chan or Twitter, according to Know Your Meme, “pizzagate" is an absolutely insane conspiracy theory, “regarding a series of emails hacked from former Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s account, which some supporters of Donald Trump claimed were coded messages discussing an underground pedophile ring operated at the Comet Ping Pong Pizza restaurant in Washington, D.C.”
Obviously, using the the powers of reason and critical thinking that still so many people on this planet are either suppressing or just do not have, this theory is bunk. But that wasn’t enough to stop a North Carolina man from “self-investigating” the pedophile ring with an assault rifle. 28-year-old Edgar Maddison Welch discharged the rifle but did not shoot anyone when he enterted Comet Ping Pong Pizza yesterday. Police arrested Welch 45 minutes later and seized a Colt .38 caliber handgun and shotgun. Thankfully, no one was hurt.
According to The Washington Post, “The popular family restaurant, near Connecticut and Nebraska avenues NW in the Chevy Chase neighborhood, was swept up in the onslaught of fake news and conspiracy theories that were prevalent during the presidential campaign. The restaurant, its owner, staff and nearby businesses have been attacked on social media and received death threats.”
Reddit has since banned the “Pizzagate” topic, but it didn’t stop harassment.
That’s the American Dream in 2016, open a small business and gain notoriety through a disgusting conspiracy theory that leads to being threatened by an assault rifle. If anyone needs me, I'll be cowering under my desk in the fetal position until the end of time.
