“Pizzagate” gunman dies in officer-involved shooting in North Carolina
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(CHARLOTTE, N.C.) — The man who in 2016 showed up to a popular pizza restaurant with a gun, claiming there were children being trafficked in the basement, died in an officer-involved shooting on Thursday outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, according to authorities.
Edgar Maddison Welch was armed when he tried to take action against “Pizzagate,” a conspiracy theory that spread during the election cycle of 2016.
It falsely claimed that the New York City Police Department had discovered a child sex trafficking ring in the basement of Comet Ping Pong Pizza in Washington, D.C. The conspiracy theory falsely claimed that the criminal ring was run by operatives from within the Democrat Party.
Welch fired three shots at the restaurant in an effort to “self investigate” the ring, which didn’t exist. He was sentenced to four years in prison.
An officer made a traffic stop on the vehicle after observing that it belonged to Welch, who had an outstanding warrant for his arrest, the statement said.
“A vehicle stop was made by the officer and during his interaction with the driver, the officer recognized the front seat passenger as the person with the outstanding warrant for arrest,” according to the KPD.
“The officer who initiated the traffic stop approached the passenger side of the vehicle and opened the front passenger’s door to arrest the individual,” according to Kannapolis Chief of Police Terry Spry.
During the traffic stop, it was discovered that Welch was armed. Officers called for him to drop his gun, but he “failed to comply,” according to the statement.
“When he opened the door, the front seat passenger pulled a handgun from his jacket and pointed it in the direction of the officer,” he said in the statement, referring to Welch by his position within the vehicle.
“That officer and a second officer who was standing at the rear passenger side of the Yukon gave commands for the passenger to drop the gun,” Spry said.
His statement continued: “After the passenger failed to comply with their repeated requests, both officers fired their duty weapon at the passenger, striking him.”
Welch died two days later at a nearby hospital, Spry said.
The incident is being investigated by an outside police agency to determine if there was any wrongdoing.
(PITTSBURGH) — At the midway point of former President Donald Trump’s speech in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Monday, Megyn Kelly took the stage as a headliner to explain why she’s backing Trump.
“He will be a protector of women. And it’s why I’m voting for him,” Kelly said, suggesting the former president previously got mocked for making a similar statement.
The conservative media personality, who was previously a Fox News host, has had an at-times contentious relationship with the former president over the language he’s used to describe women. During the first debate of the 2016 campaign, Kelly as moderator had asked Trump about statements he’d made about women, including calling some derogatory names.
Eight years later, Kelly was on the stage in Pennsylvania on Monday helping Trump deliver what would be his final message before Election Day. Kelly suggested on Monday that she supports Trump because he takes care of the common man.
“He will look out for our boys to our forgotten boys and our forgotten men. Guys like you,” she said, adding, “Who maybe have a beer after work and don’t want to be judged by people like Oprah and Beyonce, who will never have to face the consequences of her disastrous economic policies.”
At one point, Kelly pointed to disagreeing with the “left’s version of masculinity,” mentioning advertisements in support of Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign that called for women to vote for Harris without their husbands’ knowledge.
“You see that ad they did about Trump voters trying to encourage women to lie to their husbands so that they could vote for her instead of Trump,” Kelly said. “That’s their version of what marriage looks like, an overbearing husband who bullies his wife into saying she voted one way as opposed to an honest, open relationship.”
She added, “Oh wait, I’m talking about Kamala and Doug,” referencing the vice president’s husband, Doug Emhoff. “I’m not into their version of toxic masculinity or new masculinity. I prefer the old version,” Kelly said, alluding to Trump.
“I prefer a president who understands how to be strong and how to fight. I hope all of you do what I did last week. Vote Trump and get ten friends to vote Trump to.”
(LUANDA, Angola) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday, during his diplomatic trip to Angola, acknowledged America’s “original sin” of slavery and the slave trade that once connected the United States and the African nation.
“I’ve learned that while history can be hidden, it cannot and should not be erased,” Biden said. “It should be faced. It’s our duty to face our history. The good, the bad and the ugly. The whole truth. That’s what great nations do.”
The remarks were delivered at the National Museum of Slavery, where millions of African slaves were baptized before being chained in ships to travel across the Atlantic Ocean.
“We’re gathering in a solemn location because to fully consider how far our two countries have come in our friendship, we have to remember how we began,” Biden said outside the museum on a rainy afternoon.
“We hear them in the wind and the waves: young women, young men born free in the highlands in Angola, only to be captured, bound and forced in a death march along this very coast to this spot by slave traders in the year 1619,” Biden said.
The White House announced earlier this week, as Biden arrived in Angola, that it was giving a $229,000 grant to help with a restoration of the museum and its conservation.
The diplomatic trip is aimed at deepening the relationship between the two countries, and marks the first-ever visit to Angola by a sitting U.S. president and the first sub-Saharan trip by an American leader since President Barack Obama in 2015.
Biden kicked off the visit with a bilateral meeting earlier Tuesday with President João Lourenco in Luanda.
The two men talked about trade and economic opportunities, protecting democracy and the growth of the U.S.-Angola relationship, according to the White House.
Biden celebrated the partnership further in his remarks, saying it’s as “strong as it’s ever been” and that the “United States is all in on Africa’s future.”
“The story of Angola and the United States holds a lesson for the world: two nations with a shared history in evil of human bondage, two nations on opposite sides of the Cold War defining struggle in the late part of the 20th century,” Biden said. “And now two nations standing shoulder to shoulder, working together every day for the mutual benefit of our people.”
“It’s a reminder that no nation need be permanently the adversary of another testament to the human capacity for reconciliation and proof that from every — from the horrors of slavery and war, there is a way forward,” Biden added.
On Wednesday, Biden will tour part of the Lobito rail corridor, which is being partially financed by the U.S., that will help transport goods and materials across Africa — a development seen as a way to counter China’s influence in the region.
White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby touted the project in an interview with ABC News’ Alex Presha.
Kirby said the administration was “very confident that the Lobito corridor is going to be a success,” noting it’s a multilateral effort with support from U.S. allies and benefits American companies that will build part of the railway at home before it’s transported to Africa.
Looming over Biden’s historic visit, though, was the decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden. Biden has not answered reporters’ shouted questions on the pardon while he’s been in Angola.
Asked if the pardon has diverted attention away from Biden’s trip, Kirby said Biden is focused on “how important this is, again, not just to the people of Angola and the continent, but to the American people.”
(WASHINGTON) — Following reports of alleged impropriety by Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Defense, the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee have quietly made a request for additional information from the veterans organization Hegseth once ran, as well as the district attorney in Monterey County, California, according to communications reviewed by ABC News.
The committee appears to be looking deeper into recently reported accusations of a 2017 sexual assault as well as allegations of financial misconduct on Hegseth’s part, both of which Hegseth has denied.
The allegations have created an uphill climb for the former Fox News host, who can only afford to lose the votes of three Senate Republicans when his confirmation comes up for a vote in the coming weeks.
The committee’s requests, which were made in early December, ask that documents be provided to the Senate Armed Services Committee no later than Monday, Jan. 6, just over a week before Hegseth is scheduled to appear before the panel for his public confirmation hearing on Jan. 14.
The requests, reviewed by ABC News, show that the top Republican on the committee, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and the top Democrat, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., sought additional information from the Monterey County district attorney concerning allegations of sexual assault that were levied against Hegseth in 2017 and first reported in November, following Trump’s announcement of Hegseth as his DOD pick.
The Monterey Police Department released a report last month detailing how a woman told investigators in October 2017 that she had encountered Hegseth at an event afterparty at a California hotel where both had been drinking, and claimed that he sexually assaulted her.
When police approached Hegseth as part of their investigation, he denied the accusation and “stated that the engagement … was mutual,” the police report said.
No charges were filed, although Hegseth subsequently paid the woman as part of a settlement agreement, which Hegseth’s attorney said was only because Hegseth feared his career would suffer if her allegations were made public. The agreement stated that Hegseth made no admission of wrongdoing in the matter.
Though the police report was made public in November, sources said members of the Senate Armed Services Committee were seeking any evidence beyond what was included in the report, as well as any documents containing legal analysis or recommendations.
The Monterey County District Attorney responded to the committee’s request on Dec. 20, informing the committee that the office did not have any additional evidence in the case beyond the publicly available police report, according to a letter from the DA’s office to the committee obtained by ABC News.
The DA did note, however, that — while they possess only a case summary and a memo declining to prosecute Hegseth — some of the other records the committee requested contain protected work by attorneys, and they declined to provide some of them due to their protected status.
Spokespeople for both Wicker and Reed declined to comment to ABC News.
In an interview with conservative media personality and former Fox News host Megyn Kelly in early December, Hegseth admitting to being in a hotel room with the woman but denied raping her.
“Absolutely not. Absolutely not. I’ve been honest about that encounter, starting with law enforcement,” he said when asked if he had raped a woman.
“I may have been drinking, but I was cognizant enough to remember every single detail,” he said. “And I’m not here to say that my conduct was good — you know, being in a hotel room with someone that’s, you know, not the person you’re with is not OK. I own up to that, and I’ve had to own up to that, and that’s been difficult.”
The senators are also seeking information from Concerned Veterans for America, a veterans organization for which Hegseth was once CEO, after a New Yorker story contained allegations that Hegseth engaged in financial mismanagement and sexist behavior while at the helm of that organization. Hegseth has broadly denied the allegations.
The committee has requested all documents related to Hegseth’s employment, any financial records and tax returns related to his management position at the organization, and any written documentation alleging wrongdoing or misconduct by Hegseth.
A representative for Concerned Veterans for America did not respond to requests for comment from ABC News.
Reached by ABC News, Hegseth’s attorney, Timothy Parlatore, maintained that his client is innocent and said that Hegseth is “cooperating fully with any requests for information from the committee.”
Trump publicly endorsed Hegseth last month after the allegations of misconduct initially got Hegseth a rocky reception on Capitol Hill.
“Pete Hegseth is doing very well. He will be a fantastic, high energy, Secretary of Defense,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. “Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!”
Wicker, who will oversee Hegseth’s nomination hearing before the Armed Services Committee, has repeatedly signaled that he’s interested in a thorough vetting of the candidate.
In early December, amid speculation that Hegseth might not submit to a traditional FBI background check, Wicker told ABC News that it would be his preference to see such a background check carried out.
The Republican said the committee was, at the time, “looking at the way it’s been done traditionally and getting information about that, as to who actually orders the FBI background check.”
When pushed by ABC News about a background check on Hegseth, Wicker said, “I would prefer a full background check, yes.”
Hegseth has since been submitted for a full FBI screening, according to his attorney.
He’s also met with several senators on Capitol Hill, including Wicker, and recently appeared to be gaining support.
Wicker has not yet publicly endorsed Hegseth, but following their meeting he said he thought Hegseth would be in “pretty good shape” regarding his confirmation.
