'Pizzagate' gunman fatally shot by police outside Charlotte in traffic stop

[tenderfoot]

The Salisbury man who died Monday after he was shot by two Kannapolis police officers over the weekend was the ‘Pizzagate’ gunman arrested in Washington, D.C., in 2016 after he terrified people with a loaded AR-15 inside a restaurant.

Edgar Maddison Welch, the man killed, made national headlines in 2016 when he entered Comet Ping Pong, a pizza restaurant in Washington, D.C., armed with an assault rifle and loaded revolver. He drove from Salisbury to the nation’s capital in search of an alleged child sex ring linked to Hillary Clinton — something he learned about from a fake news story, The Washington Post reported.

:snip:

The officer that pulled the vehicle over then moved to the front passenger seat where Welch was sitting to arrest him. But when he opened the door, Welch pulled out a handgun from his jacket and pointed it at the officer, police said.

The arresting officer and a second officer at the scene shot Welch after he refused orders to drop his gun. The press release identified the two officers who fired as Caleb Tate and Brooks Jones.

more: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article298247913.html

[lapfog_1]

1. I don't even need to read the next set of x-crements from MAGA

He was silenced before he could spill the beans about the children in the basement... just before Trump takes office and arrests Hillary, blah blah blah.

In a related story our national average IQ increased by 1 point suddenly.

[sop]

56. The truth is out there.

[Dave Bowman]

2. I just hope that this idiot never had kids.

He looks so ridiculously proud on in the pic.

[Prof. Toru Tanaka]

21. I look at it as one less douchebag in our country.

Last edited Fri Jan 10, 2025, 08:23 AM - Edit history (1)

I agree with you in hoping he hasn’t procreated.

[Initech]

116. Nothing of value was lost there!

[magicarpet]

66. Glad to see his name come off the voting rolls.

Hadda been a trDUMPee.

[Trueblue1968]

69. Glad he is gone. He was a bad bad evil evil man.

[Dave Bowman]

74. Yeah, the World is a better place.

[OAITW r.2.0]

104. Pin-up boy for ignorant arrogance.

Why wasn't he arrested, tried, and conivted to a long-term prison sentence for what he did in DC?

I hope it becomes a meme pic. Fucked Around/ Found Oui/.

[Dave Bowman]

117. I like your idea for a meme.

[dobleremolque]

3. Oh no! Anyway, .....

[ExciteBike66]

4. Wow he pointed a gun at the officer and they didn't immediately shoot him?

They first tried to give him commands?

Wonder why??????!!??!11?!

[rzemanfl]

7. I think he was a white guy. n/t

EDIT- I had scrolled down before the picture appeared.

[barbtries]

65. correctamundo. nt

[Dave Bowman]

29. They were probably hoping to go eat some burgers with him. Like with that little shit:

Cops bought Burger King for Dylann Roof following his arrest

https://abc7.com/dylann-roof-south-carolina-church-shooting-emanuel-african-methodist-episcopal/801013/

New details are emerging about what happened to Dylann Roof, the man who allegedly killed nine people at a Charleston church, in the hours that followed his arrest. Police in Shelby, N.C., reportedly bought the 21-year-old food from Burger King after he was taken into custody approximately 250 miles northwest of Charleston following a 16-hour manhunt.

[mucholderthandirt]

134. It's not unusual to buy people in custody some food. If someone asks, they get something.

Or even if they don't ask, and it's been a while. No need to mess with people fainting from hunger or thirst.

Though I think they should get shit from McDonald's, since that's Trumpy's favorite place. I personally won't eat there anymore, after that stunt they did for him, and the issues with people getting sick. I don't eat out much, and decades ago Mickey D's had the best fries, but now I go elsewhere (my mother likes Wendy's).

[keep_left]

59. Obligatory "Family Guy" cartoon...

[mucholderthandirt]

133. He was white. Cops tend to not just shoot white men, especially the "good ol' boys" type.

[Blue_Tires]

5. Good fucking riddance...

[rampartd]

9. there is one that can't be pardoned

[Celerity]

6. The judge overseeing his case at the time was U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was then a district

judge in Washington, D.C.

Brown Jackson also ordered Welch to three years of supervised release, to receive a mental health assessment, and to stay away from the restaurant. He was also ordered to pay $5,744 in restitution for property damage he caused at the restaurant.

[Jim__]

10. Still a jackass after all these years.

[LeftInTX]

11. Released from prison in 2021, on supervised release & had an outstanding warrant for felony probation violation

Sounds like he turned his life around...

Is he gonna be another martyr like Ashli Babbitt?

[hadEnuf]

12. No pleasure in this happening,

but that's how you handle this MAGA vermin.

They are murderous animals and know nothing else.

[Cirsium]

14. Vermin?

I have to object. Calling any human beings "vermin" and "animals" should be out of bounds, as should advocating summary executions by law enforcement.

[CatWoman]

19. marge simpson has entered the chat room

[Cirsium]

33. Funny

I actually know Julie Kavner ( as a customer where I worked). I don't know much about the character she voiced. Maybe you can fill me in on that score. I am guessing it was an attempt at some sort of insult, yes?

[CatWoman]

47. ....

?si=dGi2wj22Ekw4UxxI

[Cirsium]

55. Ah, I see

A cartoon character expressing opposition to senseless violence. Ha ha ha ha ha.

[Cirsium]

31. Not a human being?

Diseased, embittered, violence-prone , certainly. But not a human being? You are using the language of the MAGAts.

The officers may well have had no choice in this instance, but the post I objected to said this:

"That's how you handle this MAGA vermin. They are murderous animals and know nothing else."

That is what I objected to. "They" are "murderous animals" who should be killed by law enforcement. That goes way beyond this guy and this incident. How do you read that? It is exactly the same thing MAGA are saying about immigrants, by the way. Vermin, animals, not human beings...

There is a lot of tough talk around here, and talk is cheap. We may well be on the brink of unimaginable horrors and drastic forms of resistance may be required. The MAGA movement is extremely dangerous. All the more reason to take what we say and how we think about all of this a little more seriously.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

122. I'm always stupidly surprised to see DUers

seriously advocating torture or other violence. But it unfortunately happens frequently.

However, while I oppose extajudicial executions & other violence, I have to admit I'm happy this Pizzagate shooter is dead.

[Cirsium]

131. Right

I am certainly not mourning the death of the Pizzagate shooter.

[hadEnuf]

22. Out of bounds? What would you call someone who did what this guy did?

Misguided? Confused? Acting out transgressions?

Give me a break. Summery execution? He also pulled a gun on police officers.

Bullshit.

[Cirsium]

25. Say what?

I am not defending that guy. WTF? Nor am I denying that the officers may have had little choice.

[paleotn]

41. Then why the "summary execution" comment?

[Cirsium]

73. That is pretty basic

There is no due process when law enforcement kills someone. As I said, in this case the officers may have had no choice. But the post I objected to did not say "this is how officers should respond under these circumstances." It did not even say this is what that particular guy deserves (regardless of the circumstances.) It said this is how "vermin" should be treated (regardless of the circumstances.)

Summary, by the way, means "performed speedily and without ceremony."

Execution means "a putting to death especially as a legal penalty."

Trump:

"On Veterans Day, we pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country that lie and steal and cheat on elections."

"In some cases they're not people, in my opinion,. "But I'm not allowed to say that because the radical Left says that's a terrible thing to say. These are animals, OK, and we have to stop it."

Hitler:

"When I send the flower of German youth into the steel hail of the next war without feeling the slightest regret over the precious German blood that is being spilled, should I not also have the right to eliminate millions of an inferior race that multiplies like vermin?"

Calling people vermin, not human, animals - this is the language of the Nazis.

[paleotn]

77. Explanations of the words and concepts is unnecessary.

That's not the vibe I got on "summary execution" in your original post, but whatever.

[Cirsium]

82. The "vibe"

You are imagining some unwritten "vibe" that isn't there, perhaps.

Extra-judicial executions by police are a serious issue. In this case, they may have had no choice. However, saying that this is the way to deal with them is taking it a lot farther than just this case, and it is implying that extra-judicial executions by police are acceptable depending upon the target and regardless of the circumstances.

[hadEnuf]

109. Bullshit.

This guy was a typical case of FAFO. We have cuddled and coddled these maniacs for years, from the Bundy Ranch to Kyle Rittenhouse.

Your characterization of wanting "extra judicial executions" is made up. I'm talking zero tolerance.

[Cirsium]

118. Not defending the guy

Nowhere did I defend the guy.

[hadEnuf]

123. Never said you were defending the guy. You just don't like my remarks about him.

You call the comments Hitler-like but you omit the fact that a large portion of these MAGAs are themselves Neo-Nazis. And yes, Nazis are vermin and animals that need to be handled with zero tolerance.

Should I speak kindlier about them?

[Cirsium]

128. Not "Hitler like"

The comments are not "Hitler-like" they are the terms that against have actually used historically by the fascists and are being currently used by Trump and his followers.

You said "this 'human life' does not represent any loss either to myself, or to the greater whole." My response: "I am not defending the guy" is germane to that.

I did not "omit the fact that a large portion of these MAGAs are themselves Neo-Nazis," far from it. After all, I am objecting to you and others imitating them - because they are neo-Nazis. Pretty obvious, I think.

[hadEnuf]

135. You said "this 'human life' does not represent any loss either to myself, or to the greater whole."

I never said anything of the sort.

[Cirsium]

136. My mistake

I am trying to answer several people. My apologies or misquoting you.

[hadEnuf]

138. Thank you

[Cirsium]

139. Thank you

By the way, I agree with this:

"We have cuddled and coddled these maniacs for years, from the Bundy Ranch to Kyle Rittenhouse."

Although, we haven't done that, people in power have done that.

[paleotn]

38. Your concern is noted, if misplaced.

[Cirsium]

51. Misplaced?

When is it OK to call people "vermin?" Where should "concern" be placed, and where not?

[paleotn]

68. Yes, misplaced. When is it OK? When they are exactly that.

Sorry, but some people are irredeemable. They go so far down the rabbit hole there's no hope or possibility of salvation. In this case, thank your personal god that karma did us all a solid. Think he wouldn't shoot you and your family with zero remorse if ordered to do so by der Fuhrer? Think again.

[H2O Man]

72. Very well said.

[Cirsium]

79. Irredeemable

It could be that some people are irredeemable. Perhaps that man was. It could well be that the only path forward is a violent one, and that nothing short of lethal force will stop those who wish to harm us. The person I responded to said "they are murderous animals and know nothing else." That could be. I don't know. But I do think that the subject warrants careful and serious consideration. Talking tough, calling people "not human" and "vermin" and "animals" - while Trump and the MAGA followers are already employing that inflammatory rhetoric against -should not be casually done.

[Cirsium]

75. OK

I think we may be close to the point where forcibly stopping those who would kill us, including using lethal force, will be necessary. I think that is true. Is that what you are saying? Or are we just carelessly tossing around some inflammatory language here? Indulging in some violent revenge fantasies and borrowing language from the Nazis and the MAGAts while we are at it?

[H2O Man]

70. One of the

historical people I respect the most is Martin Luther King, Jr. One of my late friends knew him, and maintained a friendship with Coretta for decades. She wrote a review for my friend's book that focused on the Power of Forgiveness.

In private, all three used dark humor. I think that it is okay to do so in private situations. This is a forum for Democrats, and thus a fine place for saying crude things about our opposition.

[Cirsium]

94. Maybe

I am still going to caution people about using the same dehumanizing terms historically employed by fascists, and used today by Trump and his followers. Also, I would say that this is a public facing website, not a private situation.

[hadEnuf]

107. It's okay to call people vermin who act like vermin.

This guy walked around a pizza parlor with an AR-15 terrorizing innocent people over a filthy right wing lie. Then he pulls a gun on a cop 8 or 9 years later and gets shot. What kind of person does that?

Given what these violent right wing MAGAs have done and will do to this country the best you can come up with is outrage over me calling them animals and vermin?

It's about time people stopped tolerating these domestic terrorists and worrying about saying something that might offend them.

[Cirsium]

119. No, it isn't

It is never OK to parrot dehumanizing Nazi and MAGA terminology.

I am not worried about "offending them" and said nothing that would suggest that I am. Nor am I calling for "tolerating these domestic terrorists."

It is because of "what these violent right wing MAGAs have done and will do to this country" that I objected. I think it is false bravado and counter productive. I think it demeans and weakens the anti-fascist cause.

To paraphrase you, given what these violent right wing MAGAs have done and will do to this country the best you can come up with is regurgitating dehumanizing Nazi name calling, exactly the way Trump and his followers do? How is that useful?

[hadEnuf]

124. Sorry to hear you don't like the way I talk.

These MAGAs crawled out of the sewer. They chose to be this way, and they can deal with what people see them as.

Treating these people like they are something other than what they clearly are is disingenuous and is part of the "don't be like them" nonsense that has helped get us into this mess. I for one am tired of being politically correct with these types while they attempt to stomp all over our faces.

[Cirsium]

129. I agree

We should not be treating these people like they are something other than what they clearly are. Absolutely. We need to be accurately describing them.

I am not saying to go easier on them. Go harder on them. "Vermin" and "animals" is weak, not strong.

"I for one am tired of being politically correct?" Another right wing concept. I you object to MAGA people calling immigrants "vermin," that is exactly how they respond - they are "tired of being politically correct."

I am not saying "don't be like them" and I agree that it is nonsense. I am saying don't give their concepts credibility and legitimacy. THAT is a big reason we are in this mess IMHO. Right wing concepts have slipped into the thinking and rhetoric of the opponents of the right wing i all sorts of subtle ways. That is dangerous because it aids and abets the fascist agenda.

[stopdiggin]

43. your tender sensibilities are noted ...

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[Cirsium]

49. Ridiculous

You are OK with calling people "vermin?"

[stopdiggin]

71. as you don't have any problem dealing out 'summary execution' in your own hyperbole ?

Despite all the sanctimonious twaddle sung by saints and sages - (to which I do NOT aspire in any way) - this 'human life' does not represent any loss either to myself, or to the greater whole.

Dig a hole ... Toss it in ...

[Cirsium]

120. Right

Dig a hole, toss it in. That is what I am objecting to.

[stopdiggin]

127. And you go right ahead. Meanwhile - not the SLIGHTEST loss .....

tallied anywhere in the known universe ...

[Coventina]

53. I agree, it's an insult to animals and vermin. n/t

[Cirsium]

87. Nazi language

It is the exact same language used by the Nazis and by Trump and his followers to dehumanize people.

[Coventina]

89. You don't need to convince me! Humans are the worst species on the planet.

This guy was a particularly odious one.

Good riddance.

[EdmondDantes_]

54. It's strange that this needs to be said

We all have the capacity for violence and believing things that are inaccurate. Trying to distance ourselves from that, to make people "other" isn't a good thing.

[Cirsium]

86. Surprised me

I objected to the dehumanizing language, the same exact language used by Trump and by Adolph Hitler. How is that controversial?

I understand the guy the cops killed was loathsome. I understand that he allegedly pointed a gun at the cops.

[OAITW r.2.0]

106. Nazi language descriptors...but I would call him an asshole.

[Cirsium]

121. OK

I would call him a dangerous terrorist, a foot soldier in the MAGA army, not to be trusted. I would suggest a consistent, militant and effective strategy for dealing with this horrific threat. I would suggest that people leave their fantasy world, a world where they talk tough on the Internet and throw around and legitimatize the very genocidal language of the fascists. People need to wake up and face the harsh reality of what we are up against.

It doesn't matter at whom we direct "vermin" and "animal" and "sub-human," when we do that we are advancing a narrative about humanity that an only aid and abet the fascists.

[hadEnuf]

137. Look at the definition.

derogatory
people perceived as despicable and as causing problems for the rest of society:


Pretty accurate description of some of these MAGAs in my opinion.


Now you can quote Hitler's warped use of the word in order to commit genocide or Trump's use of the word for his hatred of Latinos, but that does not make someone else who uses the word automatically guilty of quoting those two in the way they meant it.


This word-police stuff is getting silly.

[GP6971]

115. Hey!! Don't I know you?

[Scrivener7]

13. Okay.

[Demovictory9]

42. Plus one

[UniqueUserName]

15. Just found this new article from Feb 2024 where Welch and GF had drugs found during traffic stop

https://www.salisburypost.com/2024/02/20/salisbury-woman-charged-after-drugs-found-on-her-while-being-booked-into-jail/

[rasputin1952]

76. I went to the link...

WOW!!!

Judging by the pic's, the cop had a little more to go on than an expired tag.

I'm surprised either of them could stand up, that is some serious to the walls, stoned.

[kimbutgar]

16. Well we can be happy he's burning in hell now!

[ThePartyThatListens]

17. Ironic

[LakeVermilion]

18. FAFO...

(hopefully engraved on his tombstone.)

just sayin'.

[RedWhiteBlueIsRacist]

24. "He's dead, Jim."--Dr. Bones McCoy

[Renew Deal]

26. Another mind poisoned by far RW ideology

This was entirely avoidable but the “mainstream” wants to prop up the extremists that put these ideas in this guys head.

[RussBLib]

27. One less idiot

No sympathy here.

https://russblib.blogspot.com/?m=1

[CanonRay]

28. Such a tragic loss for humanity

[Codifer]

30. Darwin was right.

Natural selection works..... sometimes slowly.... but always in the end.

Finally worked for this scumbag. Fuck him, I have absolutely no sympathy.

Still waiting for the final judgement demise of kyle rittenhause. Fuck him too.

[UniqueUserName]

90. I think you only win the Darwin award if you die before procreating

He had two daughters according to one site.

[Boomerproud]

98. Someone was desperate enough to...

Procreate with this waste of space. Why do they all look alike?

[LudwigPastorius]

32. I wonder what he wanted on his Tombstone.

[OAITW r.2.0]

112. I'd chip in for a gravestone...if the following was engraved......

He Fucked Around....and Found Out

[GB_RN]

34. Not Surprised At The Location...

Having lived in that area for a few years, I can tell you that particular area around I-85 isn’t exactly an intellectual paradise. From north to south, Davidson County, Rowan County (location of Salisbury) and a good chunk of Cabarrus County (location of Kannapolis, home of deceased driver Dale Earnhardt and several other NASCAR teams) are red, red, red. The area was abandoned by furniture and textile manufacturing 30+ years ago, and not a lot of the area has recovered. Results: poor education and lots of angry, poor, white males for whom the “culture wars” make a great distraction from their lives (and likely, avoiding confronting the craptacular personal decisions that have helped keep them that way).

These people are the living embodiment of this quote from former president, Lyndon B. Johnson: “If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.“

[John1956PA]

57. I visited Mooresville forty years ago.

The waterway is picturesque in the mild weather.

[blueseas]

60. Lyndon B Johnson

This is precisely what is going on

[excerptormer President Lyndon B. Johnson: “If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best-colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.“

[Paladin]

35. The world's a better place without him. (nt)

[rubbersole]

36. But, but...2nd amendment, mental illness...

...live on Fox at 11pm - patriot protecting children has civil rights violated.

See ya. Give my regards to Lucifer.

[H2O Man]

37. I hope he's okay.

Recommended.

[ornotna]

48. He is now

[H2O Man]

63. This raises the question:

Is it proper to say, "For the first time since his life?"

[SarcasticSatyr]

39. The world is just a little better off without him . . .

. . . . . .

[3Hotdogs]

40. Can someone start a GoFun to help the town pay for the bullets?

[underpants]

52. Ouch!

[paleotn]

44. Karma finally caught up with the sick bastard.

[struggle4progress]

45. ... Be not too hard when he gladly dies, defending things he does not own

Be not too hard if he tells lies and if his heart is sometimes like a stone

Be not too hard for soon he dies, often no wiser than he began
Be not too hard for life is short; and nothing is given to man ...

[state of stupid]

46. And now for some really important news.

The sun shall set in the west sooner or later and then reappear like magic in the east sooner or later.
Golly, I wonder how many people knew that.

[underpants]

50. Damn.

That’s a shame.

[thebigidea]

58. Nice to have some comic relief on such a grim news day with so many friends in pain

[sakabatou]

61. May Welch rot

[larwdem]

62. LOL

what comes around goes around

[J_William_Ryan]

64. "...an alleged child sex ring linked to Hillary Clinton..."

The manifestation of an America having gone insane.

[progressoid]

67. That's a shame

[Klarkashton]

78. Tough ass.

He's in a better place now, rotting in a box or being incinerated.

[rsdsharp]

80. This is (was) the genius who, after shooting up Comet Ping Pong,

having found no basement, let alone any children, told arresting officers, “The intel on this one wasn’t 100%.”

A (however short) lifetime Mensa member, I tells ya.

[keep_left]

99. Yeah, the reporter also got it wrong--there was no "back room".

Welch decided to arm himself and investigate [Comet Ping Pong]. Patrons, including children, and employees fled the restaurant in fear upon seeing him and his weapons.

He fired his weapon at a door, but no one was injured as Welch searched the premises for the rumored back room that held the alleged child sex ring — neither of which existed — for 20 minutes. He left the restaurant unarmed and was arrested.

The Pizzagate "legend" (such as it is, or was) always spoke of the nefarious "Comet Ping Pong basement" where unspeakable crimes occurred. I guess we can cut the reporter a little slack here, but the "kids in the basement" story is pretty much what the entire legend is! (The "basement of evil" is also common to a lot of other fictitious ritual-abuse stories going back to the '80s, and probably even further). What's ironic about the Pizzagate shooting is that Comet Ping Pong doesn't even have a basement!

[AverageOldGuy]

81. One down . . .

. . . thousands to go.

[Basso8vb]

83. Good

[3auld6phart]

84. Looking a

at that freak, I would say no loss what so ever. Probably a repuugnanican maggot.

[Evolve Dammit]

85. Another one bites the dust.

[chouchou]

88. "Hi Marge. I know we've never truly liked each other and all that."

"Perhaps we should make amends" "I forgive you for scratching "Bitch" all over my car"
"Anyway, I've got this wonderful cute Guy that you would just Love!" "Maybe a blind date!"

[keithbvadu2]

91. He should have gone to Mar a Lago.

..."an alleged child sex ring" in the basement of a building that did not have a basement.

https://www.dailykos.com/blogs/CajsaLilliehook

[Jirel]

92. Was a Darwin Award due?

Hopefully no kids from this one.

[Liberal In Texas]

93. This guy and Anita Bryant.

We need one more...

[OAITW r.2.0]

113. Perhaps they'll meet in Heaven's Incoming Judgement room.

[Midnight Writer]

95. I guess you really can fix stupid.

[Deep State Witch]

96. For Once

The cops shot a white guy.

[Marthe48]

97. Was he ok with the rwnj pedophiles?

Did he go looking for epstein? Or gaetz? Or anyone?

[Boomerproud]

103. Both the NBC and ABC stories were very badly written.

Whitewashing that fact that he could have killed people in that pizza parlor. ABC used the phrase "Democrat party" in the article.

[Marthe48]

105. I don't doubt it

I got rid of cable tv years ago. I hear about the crud that passes for reporting and it seems even worse now than it did then.

[jalan48]

100. Ciao.

[MustLoveBeagles]

101. FAFO

It's really stupid to point a gun at police. How did he think that was going to end?

[Nimble_Idea]

102. damn, maga gunning each other down in the streets - this country most definitely has become a shithole

[LPBBEAR]

108. I'm glad this idiot

is worm food.

[Jit423]

110. Next on the list Zimmerman-gate, Rittenhouse-gate, and a few more...

Karma of the Universe is unfolding as it should. It just takes time...

[D23MIURG23]

111. Looks like "the deep state" won in the end.

Good riddance. I would like to remind the decedent not to let the door hit him on the way out.

[travelingthrulife]

125. Good. one less monster.

[ThePartyThatListens]

126. Good riddance to bad rubbish

[Maru Kitteh]

130. See people? Good things can still happen. nt

[Vogon_Glory]

132. Moral of story: don't believe everything you read or hear over the internet

And the more fantastic the rumor, the more likely it is that some little (expletive) is lying through his or her teeth.

[EndlessWire]

140. I think the moral of the story is,

don't point a weapon at a cop. You're gonna die.