Tag Archives: Pizzagate

The DCist reports: A man pleaded guilty to setting a fire at Comet Ping Pong in January, in another attack on the Northwest pizzeria that appeared to be linked to debunked conspiracy theories. Under the plea deal, Ryan Jaselskis would go to prison for four years. A video posted to the YouTube account of Jaselski’s parents about an hour before …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump has summoned Republican lawmakers, political strategists and social media stars to the White House on Thursday to discuss the “opportunities and challenges” of the Web — but his upcoming summit, critics say, could end up empowering online provocateurs who have adopted controversial political tactics entering the 2020 election campaign. The high-profile gathering follows months …

The Washington Post reports: A 22-year-old man from California has been charged with setting fire last month to curtains at Comet Ping Pong pizza shop in the Chevy Chase neighborhood of Northwest Washington, according to federal law enforcement authorities. Ryan Jaselskis, also known as Ryan Rimas, is charged with maliciously damaging or destroying by means of fire. Magistrate Judge G. …

NBC News Washington reports: A D.C. restaurant that was once at the center of an online conspiracy theory dubbed “pizzagate” was intentionally set on fire, fire officials say. Firefighters responded to a small fire at Comet Ping Pong on Connecticut Avenue NW about 9:20 p.m. Wednesday night, D.C. Fire and EMS said. They found that employees had put out the …

“They think it’s very real, that Judge Kavanaugh was the leader of a child gang rape cartel that somehow managed to not to be discovered until four days before he was about to be confirmed on the Supreme Court. That is something that I think most journalists should be a little bit more skeptical of. They should have natural skepticism. …

Newsweek reports: Arizona Senate candidate Dr. Kelli Ward says she is hoping to capitalize on the audience of far-right conspiracy theorist Mike Cernovich, who is best known for spreading the “Pizzagate” fake news panic and the firing of Hollywood director James Gunn. Ward, a Republican candidate hoping to replace retiring Sen. Jeff Flake in November, made the admission to MSNBC …

Following a Media Matters link in an article about a Pizzagate-style conspiracy theory currently unspooling in Oregon, you arrive an allegedly Australian blog titled Pedophiles Down Under. Here’s how the top post starts: Franklin Graham is scrambling to erase all history of his unfathomably inappropriate visit to the Voodoo Doughnut store – the very same outlet the FBI busted for …

The Los Angeles Times reports: Far-right Pizzagate activist and blogger Mike Cernovich said Thursday he’s thinking about running for Congress in California this year. “It’s looking like a real possibility,” he tweeted to his more than 400,000 followers without revealing which district he might be considering. Cernovich lives in Laguna Niguel, within the coastal Orange County district that belongs to …

Business Insider reports: After being knocked out from the Australian Open in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, American breakout tennis star Tennys Sandgren blasted the media for its coverage of him in recent days. Sandgren, 26, made a surprise run through the Australian Open, but faced scrutiny over past Twitter use that seemed to support the alt-right movement. Previous tweets and …

Pizzagate troll Mike Cernovich, who has famously bragged that his manly jism is so supremely powerful that women uncontrollably crave it, also apparently fancies himself to be a literal sorcerer. (Wizard? Warlock?) Jared Holt reports at Right Wing Watch: “Everything I do is alchemy. That’s why I believe in magic. Not black magic, not the satanic magic that they practice …

The New York Times reports: MSNBC pulled an abrupt about-face on Thursday, announcing that it had rehired a contributor just days after it fired him when far-right activists drew attention to an inflammatory tweet he posted in 2009. “Sometimes you just get one wrong — and that’s what happened here,” Phil Griffin, the cable network’s president said in a statement …

Kyle Mantyla reports at Right Wing Watch: Over the holiday weekend, President Trump tweeted out a link to a web page that lists all of the amazing things that he has supposedly accomplished during his first year in office. Not surprisingly, MAGA Pill, the website that produced the list, turned out to be a fringe outlet that promotes wild conspiracy …

Via Mediaite: Infamous for his dirty-tricksterism, ludicrous statements and gaudy persona, Roger Stone has never backed off from blustery political antics — and casually throwing around accusations of pedophilia are literally just another Tuesday in his life. In a tweet issued Tuesday evening, Stone called former Hillary Clinton campaign manager John Podesta a pedophile, again implying that the Democrat strategist …

NBC News reports: A right-wing activist who brought attention to debunked conspiracy theories — and who gained new prominence when he was retweeted by President Donald Trump this week — is a U.S. naval intelligence officer detailed to a reserve unit, Navy service records show. John Michael Posobiec III’s security clearance is currently suspended, according to a U.S. official, who …

The HuffPost reports: A North Carolina man who took a gun to a family-oriented pizza restaurant in northwest D.C. to look into a conspiracy theory that the eatery was home to a child sex trafficking ring was sentenced on Thursday to four years in federal prison. Federal prosecutors sought 4.5 years for Edgar Maddison Welch, who pleaded guilty in March …

The New York Times reports: A production of “Julius Caesar” in Central Park was disrupted on Friday evening by two protesters who objected to the bloody scene in which the title character, played by an actor costumed and styled to resemble President Trump, is knifed to death. A woman who later identified herself on social media as Laura Loomer jumped …

The guy who says President Obama and Hillary Clinton are literally possessed by demons is asking the media to be respectful in covering his insane child custody hearing. Seriously: Alex Jones, the founder of the far-right InfoWars conspiracy theory outlet, urged the media Friday to “respectfully” cover him and his family amid a custody hearing over his three children. “I …