Federal charges after shots fired in D.C. pizzeria

He was looking to raid rumored child sex ring there.

WASHINGTON — A man who stormed into a pizza restaurant in the nation’s capital and fired an assault weapon as he tried to “self-investigate” an internet conspiracy theory sought to recruit others in what he called a raid that could involve killing people, court documents released Tuesday say.

Prosecutors announced Tuesday that Edgar Maddison Welch now faces a federal charge of interstate transportation of a firearm with intent to commit a crime, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and potential financial penalties.

At a brief hearing Tuesday morning, prosecutors dismissed local charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and other weapons offenses. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia declined to comment, citing the pending investigation.

Welch, 28, of Salisbury, North Carolina, has been in jail since the Dec. 4 shooting at Comet Ping Pong, which has been targeted by purveyors and consumers of fake news who spread false rumors that it’s the site of a child sex trafficking ring run by prominent Democrats.

Welch told police “he had read online that the Comet restaurant was harboring child sex slaves and that he wanted to see for himself if they were there,” and that “he was armed to help rescue them,” according to previously released court documents.

A federal court document made public Tuesday says evidence obtained from Welch’s cellphone shows he “had been contemplating a violent confrontation at the restaurant since at least” Dec. 1.

The document details a series of text messages Welch exchanged with two unnamed friends. He asked one friend if his Army buddy might be “down for the cause?” which he described as “Raiding a pedo ring, possibly sacraficing (sic) the lives of a few for the lives of many,” and standing up against “a corrupt system that kidnaps, tortures and rapes babies and children in our own backyard.”

The document suggests the three friends met, but doesn’t say anything about them joining Welch for his trip to Washington. One friend texted encouragement as Welch drove. The document also says Welch recorded a video on his phone on the day of the shooting, telling his family members that he loved them and expressing hopes that he would be able to tell them that again.

“And if not,” he said, “don’t ever forget it.”