WASHINGTON (Reuters)-
On Friday, a North Carolina man admitted to firing at a pizzeria in Washington, saying the fake news story contained a child porn ring related to 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
28-year-old Edgar Welch from Salisbury has been charged from AR-
On December, a rifle pointed to an employee at the comet table tennis pizza store after he appeared to investigate online conspiracy rumors.
No one was injured.
Welch pleaded guilty in the United StatesS.
The Federal District Court charged the interstate with transporting guns, with intent to commit a crime, and accused the local area of using dangerous weapons to attack.
Welch, dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit, replied to Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's question only by saying, "Yes, Madam ".
When asked what he wanted to do, he said: "plead guilty.
"He may face up to two years in prison for federal charges and up to five years in prison for assault charges.
Jackson is scheduled to be pronounced on June 22.
Welch also faces potential fines and must pay compensation for damage to computers, door locks and table tennis tables in restaurants.
Local gun charges were dropped as part of Welch's request.
He also brought a car. 38-
According to court documents, the caliber revolver entered the pizzeria and police found a shotgun with bullets in his car.
Welch told police he was investigating a false conspiracy theory known as "pizzagate.
"Posts on social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Reddit online message boards mistakenly claim that the comet is a child porn circle run by Clinton and her campaign chairman John Podesta
The allegations are part of a surge in false news coverage in the United States. S.
Presidential campaigns are often spread through websites that claim to be news media and cite false sources.
Scott Talan, a communications professor at the American University in Washington, said Welch was an example of distrust of traditional news sources and the ability of authorities to investigate suspected crimes would promptStyle behavior.
"For more and more people, sources (of news)
"It's okay," he said in a telephone interview. (
Ian Simpson reports;
Editor of Colin Jenkins and Dan Grebler)