‘The intel on this wasn’t 100 percent,’ says Pizzagate gunman

WASHINGTON — Edgar M. Welch, 28, of Salisbury, North Carolina, was arrested Sunday after firing a gun inside a pizza restaurant in Washington as he investigated false claims in online articles that the pizzeria was at the center of a child sex slave ring, police said.

No one was injured by the gunfire, and Welch surrendered peacefully. The pizzeria, Comet Ping Pong, had been swept into a conspiracy theory, which linked the supposed ring to Hillary Clinton, because its owner had corresponded with the Clinton campaign about a fundraising dinner.

On Wednesday, a New York Times reporter spoke with Welch, who goes by his middle name, Maddison, by videoconference at an old hospital building adjacent to the city's jail. In his first news media interview since his arrest, Welch appeared downcast and at times distracted as he answered questions for 45 minutes, the maximum time allowed by the jail.

"I just wanted to do some good and went about it the wrong way," he said.

[How Pizzagate went from rumor, to hashtag, to gunfire in DC]

Q. What was his original plan?

A. Welch, the father of two daughters, said he woke up Sunday morning and told his family he had some things to do. He left "Smallsbury," a nickname for his hometown, for the 350-mile drive to Washington with the intention of giving the restaurant a "closer look" and then returning home. He wanted to "shine some light on it." As he made his way to Washington, he felt his "heart breaking over the thought of innocent people suffering." Once he got to the pizzeria, there was an abrupt change of plans. Welch would not say why he took a military-style assault rifle inside the restaurant and fired it. According to court documents, Welch said he had come armed to help rescue the children.

Q. What did he think when he discovered there were no children at the pizzeria?

A. "The intel on this wasn't 100 percent," he said. However, he refused to dismiss outright the claims in the online articles, conceding only that there were no children "inside that dwelling." He also said that child slavery was a worldwide phenomenon.

Q. Where did he learn about the fake news involving Comet?

A. He said it was through word of mouth. After recently having internet service installed at his house, he was "really able to look into it." He said that substantial evidence from a combination of sources had left him with the "impression something nefarious was happening." He said one article on the subject led to another and then another. He said he did not like the term fake news, believing it was meant to diminish stories outside the mainstream media, which he does not completely trust. He also said he was not political. While once a registered Republican, he did not vote for Donald Trump. He also did not vote for Clinton. But he is praying that Trump takes the country in the "right direction."

Q. What was he like?

A. Welch was soft-spoken and polite, and said he liked the outdoors. He was cautious when speaking about what happened, sometimes citing advice he had received from his lawyer. He said he did not believe in conspiracy theories, but then added that the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks needed to be re-examined. He has listened to Alex Jones, whose radio show traffics in conspiracy theories and who once said that Clinton "has personally murdered and chopped up" children. "He's a bit eccentric," Welch said. "He touches on some issues that are viable but goes off the deep end on some things."

Welch likes to read. A favorite is "Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul," by John Eldredge, about masculinity in evangelical Christianity. He said he did not do drugs but drank the occasional beer. He misses his children: "They are in my thoughts every second of the day." He said he had grown religious in the last few years. Tattooed on his back are Bible verses: "Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

Q. Does he have any regrets?

A. Welch said that he had acted in haste and that, if he could, he would do a lot of things differently. "I regret how I handled the situation," he said.