N.C. man told police he was armed to save children and left Comet Ping Pong when he didn’t find any there
The man who stormed into a D.C. restaurant with an assault rifle Sunday afternoon told police he was searching for child sex slaves whom he believed to be hidden there, that he was armed to help rescue them, and that he surrendered after he found no evidence of child sex trafficking, according to court records.
Edgar Maddison Welch surrendered peacefully after 45 minutes of searching inside Comet Ping Pong, which had become the site of a viral conspiracy theory tied to Hillary Clinton’s campaign that falsely suggested that the restaurant’s owner and powerful political allies were hiding a child sex trafficking ring. Welch told police he had read about the claims online.
.. “Whatever was going through his mind at the time, I’m sure it had to do with saving lives of children,” Holtorf said. “He most likely really believes the conspiracy theory. Knowing Maddison and knowing the good man that he is, I would say he believed he was doing something right.”
She added, “He told people to get out. . . . He probably saw himself as more on a hero mission to save children than anything else.”