The North Carolina man who traveled to Washington, D.C. to investigate “Pizzagate,” has been sentenced to four years in prison, after firing an AR-15 rifle inside a pizza restaurant.
Edgar Maddison Welch learned of the conspiracy theory accusing Comet Ping Pong pizzeria of housing several children against their will as part of a child sex abuse ring on the Internet last December. After further research, Welch took it upon himself to travel to D.C. to rescue the imprisoned children. Problem is, no children were held captive and the story was fake news. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident.
In March, Welch pleaded guilty to federal assault charges and transporting a firearm over state lines.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson said Welch’s actions “literally left psychological wreckage.” However, in a letter to the court, Welch apologized for his actions, claiming he “came to D.C. with the intent of helping people.”
Although, Welch’s defense requested a sentence of one and a half years, prosecutors sought a sentence of four and a half years. Ultimately, Welch was sentenced to four years in prison.
