The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Washinton D.C. released a photo Friday of a suspect being sought 'for questioning' in Wednesday night’s arson at the Comet Ping Pong restaurant in Northwest D.C.
(See previous Voat post here.)
The man is described as 25 to 30 years old with blond hair and a beard. At the time of the fire, he was wearing jeans and a blue-and-white varsity-style jacket.
The fire broke out after 9 p.m. Wednesday. NBC Washington reported that it had spread to some curtains and window coverings before employees extinguished it. There were no injuries.
Incidentally, (cough) YouTube announced on Friday that it will recommend 'fewer conspiracy theory' videos.
The Guardian explicitly mentions Pizzagate in its article about the move:*
YouTube will recommend fewer videos that “could misinform users in harmful ways”, the company announced on Friday, in a shift for a platform that has faced criticism for amplifying conspiracy theories and extremism.
The change concerns YouTube’s recommendations feature, which automatically creates a playlist of videos for users to watch next. The recommendations are the result of complex and opaque algorithms designed to capture a user’s interest, but they have become a locus of criticism when YouTube directs people to potentially harmful and false content that they would not have otherwise sought out.
The company did not provide a clear definition of what it considers to be harmful misinformation, but said that some examples were “videos promoting a phony miracle cure for a serious illness, claiming the Earth is flat, or making blatantly false claims about historic events like 9/11”.
In 2016, the conspiracy theory that became known as “Pizzagate” – a popular rightwing fake news story alleging that the Comet Ping Pong restaurant was linked to a child sex ring involving the Hillary Clinton campaign – motivated a gunman to fire a weapon inside the restaurant.
On Thursday, The Guardian had already published an article called 'Trapped in a hoax: survivors of conspiracy theories speak out'.
Incidentally, cough, James Alefantis was among the five people portrayed:
James Alefantis Falsely accused of running a paedophile ring
In October 2016, a month before Trump was elected, James Alefantis hosted a party to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Comet Ping Pong, his Washington DC pizza restaurant.
Within days, his establishment was under siege and he found himself at the center of the mother of all modern conspiracy theories: Pizzagate. Hillary Clinton, so the narrative went, was masterminding a global child-trafficking ring that was holding kids as sex slaves in his basement.
The rumor-mongering began when private emails of John Podesta, Clinton’s 2016 campaign manager, were stolen allegedly by Russian agents and released through WikiLeaks. In them, Podesta mentioned his brother Tony’s friend and their occasional cooking companion, Alefantis, as well as a fundraising dinner they were planning together at Comet Ping Pong.
Soon, photos of Alefantis’ godchildren were being lifted from his Instagram page and repackaged to support claims of hideous pedophilia. Conspiracy theorists were arguing that “James Alefantis” was a bastardization of “j’aime les enfant” (I like children) and that cheese pizza, “cp” for short, was a code for child pornography.
The heinous notion that Alefantis was a pedophile working with Hillary Clinton to abuse children in the basement of his restaurant (Comet Ping Pong has no basement) hurtled around the internet. Abusive messages were posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page and in Yelp reviews; one online critic claimed to have found a child’s hand in his pizza.
Crisis actors, deep state, false flag: the rise of conspiracy theory code words
But it was not until bigger beasts got involved that it became truly dangerous. Trump’s pick for national security adviser, retired army general Michael Flynn, fanned the flames by tweeting about Clinton’s “sex crimes w children”. Then up popped Alex Jones once more, telling his thousands of Infowars listeners that “something’s going on, something’s being covered up”, exhorting his devotees to “go investigate it for yourself”.
So they did. The self-appointed “investigators” stepped out of the computer screen and began turning up at Comet Ping Pong.
“There was this break into the physical world that began to happen,” Alefantis recalls. “People came into the restaurant to film or look around. They came by my house, asking neighbors questions. Suddenly you look around and you don’t know who to trust.”
In December 2016, Edgar Welch answered Jones’s call to investigate the satanic child sex ring. He drove 350 miles from North Carolina and burst into Comet Ping Pong armed with three guns. He went table to table, terrifying customers and staff, then shot into a locked closet before giving himself up to police. Six months later, he was sentenced to four years and is still behind bars in Elkton federal prison in Lisbon, Ohio.
Alefantis finds it impossible to talk about that day without tearing up. For a full year after the gunman’s appearance, armed guards were posted at both doors of the restaurant, which remains equipped with multiple security cameras and panic buttons
Alex Jones eventually apologized for promoting Pizzagate, and in August was barred from YouTube, Apple and Facebook and other leading social media platforms. Last week the streaming device Roku joined the ban having granted Jones and Infowars access to its content for less than one day. But for Alefantis this is too little too late. The damage has gone too deep.
His extraordinary, petrifying ride has taught him a lot about the modern world. At one point, against the advice of friends, he reached out to some of his assailants and asked them why they hated him so much.
“I communicated with them. I realized that they also live in fear. That there’s a sense of abandonment and powerlessness where young people online believe the government is conspiring against them or stealing their children which is outrageous but real for them. We have a lot of learning to do about who is disenfranchised in this country.”
Through it all he has held on to positive thoughts, encouraged by the support of the community of pizza lovers that rallied around in his darkest hour. “It feels at times that things are out of control, that hate is on the rise. But I now understand the power of community. It saved this place. There’s no reason it can’t save the rest of the country, or the world.”
So we have this timeline:
Wednesday: Allegedly, some curtains are set on fire by an unknown man in Comet Ping Pong.
Thursday: The Guardian publishes an article portraying James Alefantis, CPP's owner, as victim of the 'Pizzagate conspiracy theory'.
Friday: YouTube announces it will recommend less videos spreading 'conspiracy theories'.
@Vindicator @EricKaliberhall @srayzie @Shizy @MolochHunter
ASolo ago
You know, this could surely be another case of theatrical display deliberately set to make it look as if a pizzagater did it, well yes, of course it would happen that way if they really are an international child sex extortion ring they would definitely have the wherewithall to want and have the ability to do this, it wouldn't be a huge matter to them. Someone had to word it this way and put it in a sentence just to make it clear that as conpiracists that has to be within our realm of thinking, simply enough and we won't be satisfied with any official report because as we have seen with organizations like this anything imaginable can be manufactured. Unfortunately this incident, like the last one, can and will be used in any number of ways which of course it will be and with a quickness. Like the grade A actors that came from Sandy Hook these people are vicious and litigious and know any number of means to cripple you before any truth sees the day of light and f you could not tell from the above entry Alex Jones incorrect rants about the SH incident has lead to Youtube beginning to ban all conspiracy theoristic material. We are certainly all in hot water simply waiting for the temperature of that water to rise.
Traps like these are specifically designed to take US into a rubicon of false negatives that negate any positive conspiratorial observations and confine you within the consensus of the majority that any defense of the alleged perpetrator or questioning of the incident is met with psychological emotional hyperbole that makes you second guess your intuition.
With that said, and with the following caveat (I in NO WAY had any involvement with the fire at comet ping pong and pizza and I live a good one thousand miles from Washington DC)...
I am sick and tired of sticking up for these loonies in both plus and minus ways, for the good guys and the bad because you know what? I'm glad noone was hurt and I hope if any more idiots try any stupid shit like this which I encourage them not to I hope they ALWAYS consider the lives they would jeopardize doing something so stupid, never ever play with fucking fire. But with that said we have put up with the kind of lunatics that come from DC and Comet Ping Pong and Pizza then SO FUCKING WHAT...
YOUR lunaics have been roaming the streets way too long sowing the horrible seeds of dissent just get prepared for some of OUR LUNATICS. YEP, there are inevitabey going to be the lone vigilante that loses his fucking mind and goes fucking crazy on you fuckers. It's just a fact of life. If you didn't take enough of the necessary steps to ensure that your business was not secure enough to CONDUCT BUSINESS in LIGHT of the VERY SERIOUS ACCUSATIONS BY AN INTERNATIONAL WHISTELBLOWING ORGANIZATION then I guess your JUST FUCKING ASKING FOR IT.
YOU FUCKING IDIOTS. You know, in fact that just goes to show and PROVE that you are a spook intelligence agency operation because only YOU would RISK PUBLIC LIVES by staying open EVEN AFTER YOU HAD A SHOOTER SHOOT UP YOUR BUSINESS. Now if you think about it the right way, and even you would agree Mr. Alefantis, that if there was such a clear and present danger of one of us lunatics coming into your business and harming your customers wouldn't you AUTOMATICALLY GO OUT OF BUSINESS? At least for a long time until things really went away right? NOPE. Business as usual even though there was STILL a very active PIZZAGATE forum for the past TWO YEARS watching everything you do there. Kinda seems like to me you and your entire operation were trying to save face in a very obvious way now huh?
Well, ow you can see that are dumb motherfuckers that believe every fucking word WIKILEAKS produced and think that YOU are involved with your PIZZA SHOP, now everyone wants your pizza shop GONE.
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? RISK MORE PEOPLES LIVES BECAUSE THIS THING GOT OUT OF CONTROL AND WAS JUST SO HORRIBLY MISUNDERSTOOD?
This sounds like a job for your buddy Chris Crocker "Leave Jimmies Alone!!!"
Fuck you shit for brains it's time you deal with some of our Jokers henchman, their everywhere you know.
Mammy ago
Back in the day such suspicious fires were called Jewish Lightening.
Yuke ago
So this must have been at the front of the building because there aren't any other windows. Either way, it smacks of a low level psyop.
Also, if the guy paid by credit card then they know who he is already.
darkknight111 ago
Keep your eyes open for imposter accounts of prominent members of this board.
Just a hunch.
septimasexta ago
"a blue-and-white varsity-style jacket." Who would wear that to Comet? Did it have BIG hand pockets to stuff in a diaper and bottle? LOL!
septimasexta ago
SOMEONE CLAIMS TO HAVE SEEN A POLICE REPORT:
"According to a police report, an unidentified person set a curtain in the back of the restaurant on fire around 10:45 p.m. Wednesday. Comet staffers used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire, and no injuries were reported." http://archive.fo/Cxk9W#selection-637.0-637.225
This curtain sounds like the one that was covering the room beyond the ping pong area, in the back of the restaurant. Was the "suspect" back there playing ping pong before the fire incident? Was anyone back there playing ping pong at the time of the incident?
Tuesday this band played: DARK THOUGHTS https://dark-thoughts.bandcamp.com/track/psycho-ward "Tuesday, January 22, 2019 Dark Thoughts + The Smarthearts $10 - Doors 9:00pm - All Ages Tickets: https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1797154 " https://www.cometpingpong.com/shows/2018/11/29/dark-thoughts-the-smarthearts
Wednesday NO BANDS SCHEDULED (night of fire) https://www.cometpingpong.com/shows/?view=calendar&month=01-2019 (ARCHIVE!)
Thursday THESE BANDS PLAYED (or did they?) "Thursday January 24th Songbyrd Presents at Comet Ping Pong
LALA LALA, SEN MORIMOTO, MOONEE THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 2019 9:00 PM 10:00 PMLala Lala w/ Sen Morimoto + Moonee ALL AGES, 9pm & $12 (in advance) and $14 (at the door) TICKETS: https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1788261 " https://www.cometpingpong.com/shows/2018/11/29/lala-lala-w-sen-morimoto
LALA LALA See their SUICIDE music video! Guy jumps off at very end! Perfect for ALL AGES! https://www.lalabandlala.com/blog/2019/1/10/new-collaboration-with-why-and-january-headline-tour
think- ago
Great research, thank you!
septimasexta ago
When they mentioned the curtain in the BACK, I suddenly wondered if a band was playing that night. Should have known.
kazza64 ago
this is what pedophiles do to cover their tracks they weave a web of lies and deceit
kazza64 ago
jesus christ they're using comet ping pong as a tool to combat pizzagate its just diabolical isnt it
septimasexta ago
I just realized, WHERE ARE ALL THE CUSTOMER WITNESSES CELL PHONE VIDEO PICS????????? Crickets.
YogSoggoth ago
Gee, I would have thought that a business like that would have taken more measures for security after making headline news. DC police must be slacking too. Guardian is M16.
new4now ago
When they catch the arsonist, and you know they will name someone, he will have an IMDb
Odd that they are bringing up Comet again
carmencita ago
This is such an obvious set up it is laughable. Matches and fluid evidently forgotten by the arsonist. Look Look. See? It was arson. The setting the stage for some crazy CT to brand the soon to be found perp. So they have someone in mind that the want to pi this on or they want to tar and feather US. Someone on the twitter link mentioned the guy looked like Mike Cernovitch. Can Alefantis have a Cc made of someone’s credit card? Probably.
MolochHunter ago
did the fire just happen to kill Alefantis' (relatively new) computer, thats my question
LightlyToasted ago
Yet another confirmation that Pizzagate is THE criminal conspiracy they are most concerned about. KEEP THE PRESSURE!
pilgrimboy14 ago
Just the hard drive probably.
MolochHunter ago
Lol rite, outer casing preserved
Vindicator ago
The only believable thing in this story that I could see applying to a goat is the big tip.
think- ago
Haha. ;-) :-)
@srayzie @EricKaliberhall @shewhomustbeobeyed @Shizy @Crensch
shewhomustbeobeyed ago
Well, he's not wrong.
3141592653 ago
Used a credit card...?! So wouldn't they have his name?
think- ago
Probably...
Blacksmith21 ago
It looks like one of those Forever Young guys....what was his name? Edgar Maddison Welch? Used a credit card....right.
think- ago
Yep, used a credit card, look straight at the camera...
Blacksmith21 ago
Say cheese. 5 bucks says they "catch" the guy on Monday and he has an alt on Voat and some stupid threats in v/dumbfuckery.
srayzie ago
I think that looks like @Auralsects with makeup to look like a white male.
Joe10jo ago
Unbelievable!
srayzie ago
Hi Joe10jo! Wassssup girlfriend? Xo
Joe10jo ago
Just now seeing this, @Srayzie. I’m awful about checking my messages. 🤪
EricKaliberhall ago
Setting the scene for a major incident... They are not going down without a fight, a dirty one. Stay frosty people.
think- ago
Please see my update:
Fetalpig ago
So they cant just look at the cc? When I commit arson,I use my credit card and look directly in the camera....yeah that's how I'm not caught.
septimasexta ago
It's called "hiding in plain sight."
septimasexta ago
So, this guy was sitting in a booth ALONE next to the "curtained" window? Men don't carry purses. Was the bottle and diaper observed lying on the table/chair by the waiter? Is the photo of him before he sat down? Why is he LOOKING UP, STRAIGHT AT THE CAMERA? WHERE WAS THE DIAPER AND BOTTLE? Did the man pay the waiter while still at the table? Of course, they would have to sign for it. Was the tip cash, or written in with the charge? Where did they find the diaper and bottle? Where was the fire started in relation to where the suspect was sitting? How close to the curtained windows? How many customers did they have at 9:30 PM. Who were the employees that put out the fire? What is THEIR official statement?
CAN ANYONE GET THE ORIGINAL FIRE/POLICE REPORT? This is KEY
IN MY OPINION, THE WHITE SUSPECT LOOKS LIKE JAMES ALEFANTIS WITH A BEARD!
carmencita ago
Chief Newsham, friend of Alefantis will be personally writing that police report and I bet he has control over the fire report too. Jimmy has friends in all the right places. Also remember when they moved those street cameras for the shooting? Well the same trick could be used inside as well. Tailor made evidence. This is going to get really interesting.
septimasexta ago
Are you sure? (not the name) News-Ham was originally an "interim" chief when he posed with James in front of the "we stand with Comet" sign. Has he ever been replaced? Doe Pres. Trump have his people in ATF? That is Federal level.
carmencita ago
I just checked and sadly he is still police chief. We seem to be unable to get rid of him. Evidently he is pleasing his masters. He was appointed by Mayor Muriel Bowser and has his own recruitment business Graham Newsham & Assoc. He also has a law degree. Another lawyer/policeman breaking the law.
septimasexta ago
Thanks for the info.
carmencita ago
You are welcome. You have done a fine job assessing the damages. Waiting for the other shoe to drop
septimasexta ago
Yes. It's most important to get the FIRST reports and then document the later changes. All reports need to be archived. Also, any reports NOT saying "according to the police/fire REPORT is suspect. Any unidentified witness remarks, or "police SAID" are suspect. I thoroughly debunked the first Comet episode, and they will not change their strategy of coverup. If there is ANY reliable info, it will be in the FIRST fire/police report. It may not even be accurate, but it is LEGALLY accurate, and they can be held accountable for what it says.
carmencita ago
I think you should be the next DC police chief! 👮
septimasexta ago
The only problem is that I'd have to move to D.C.
carmencita ago
Ugh that would be a deal breaker for sure. I always wanted to visit there but now the place gives me the willies. Brrr.
septimasexta ago
"Several prank calls were made to the restaurant earlier in the night, the Washington Post reported."
WaPo is only one reporting this. DOES JOHN PODESTA STILL WORK THERE?
think- ago
Well, if they found any at all.
septimasexta ago
Forgot, where's the TIME/DATE STAMP on the surveillance photo? Hmmm?
Also, did the customers who"fled" the building ever come back and pay their tab? How long has the restaurant remained closed since the incident?
WAS THE BOTTLE OF CHARCOAL LIGHTER FLUID CHECKED FOR FINGERPRINTS? How about the beer glasses? How long did it take the D.C. fire dept. to respond? THEY WERE THE FIRST TO INVESTIGATE. Getting the initial D.C. fire dept. report is critical.
think- ago
Well, it was open again yesterday.
srayzie ago
Used a credit card 😂 Suuuuure
think- ago
;-) :-)
Fateswebb ago
Right he is a unknown man, who paid with a CC and tipped nicely. Such BS.... And he left a baby bottle. CLEARLY a swipe at pizzagate. Except who the fuck that knows about pizzagate would do that? Why wouldn't he just leave print outs of JA Instagram? There are thousands of better things to leave behind than what he did. Complete bullshit.
Are_we__sure ago
There's rarely a day goes by on Voat where vigilante violence isn't encouraged. It's to the point where the mods have to tell people how to act when the enounter a post encouraging violence. How can you ask this?
Fantasies of violence and encouragement of violence organically occur on Voat including the pizzagate forum. I don't know how you can pretend otherwise.
Also you should look up the No True Scotsman fallacy.
septimasexta ago
"There's rarely a day goes by on Voat where vigilante violence isn't encouraged." WHO PAYS YOU TO MONITOR DAILY FOR JA? Or do you just monitor because you ARE JA. Otherwise, if you believe what you said, WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?
In our 2-tiered justice system, a pizza shop owner wouldn't rate a line in the MSM. But James obviously has big dogs covering for him. WHY?
Are_we__sure ago
Tell me you don't believe such paranoid gibberish. Didn't you used to have a lengthy theory about who I supposed to be at one point, or am I confusing you? I think we messaged back and forth about it.
this makes no sense.....except maybe as the intro to a new Law and Order series.
septimasexta ago
You watch L & O???????
I've never seen the show. I haven't had a television since a high school kid looking for drug money broke into my house to rob it and then tried to burn it down by dowsing my bedroom with gasoline in the early '90's. Decided to not replace the T.V. and cable. Never looked back. NO LAW AND ORDER HERE. BTW, I'm pretty good with a fire extinguisher. Even with a description of the kid and other evidence, no effort was made to find the arsonist! Two tiered justice!
think- ago
Yes, by paid MediaMatters shills. Which could be seen on @darkknight111's thread the other day - a user commented there, suggesting that pedos should get burned - he had joined only recently, had already lots of downvoats etc. A dead giveaway that they were a shill.
@Vindicator @Crensch @srayzie @EricKaliberhall
darkknight111 ago
Suggesting brutal punishment for pedos and deep state filth as part of their sentencing* is one thing, but the shills posts were talking about doing things outside the judicial process.
srayzie ago
There’s been a lot of strange things lately that seems like some setup is in the works.
think- ago
What other events do you mean besides the fire at CPP?
srayzie ago
There’s @Vindicator’s comment here. A lot more shills. I didn’t see it myself, but one was supposedly talking violence. Then there is this that I saw on QRV. That goes after free speech. Just like Alex Jones a few months ago. Then there is the attack on mods over an unproven claim that Jenny Moore died. The mainstream media ties Q and Pizzagate together all the time. Add the fire,
Vindicator ago
That QRV thread is interesting. Serious info warfare going on.
I note ES came out of hibernation and ventured out of his holding pen just in time for this round of stuff with Comet, too.
Fateswebb ago
It's clearly shills dude. Fake ass posts. Anyone with half a brain can see that shit.
think- ago
@shewhomustbeobeyed @darkknight111 @wolftrail @bopper @Crensch
derram ago
https://archive.ph/KXMXF :
This has been an automated message.
shewhomustbeobeyed ago
recenttwit - https://archive.is/nQ78N
think- ago
Thank you kindly!
shewhomustbeobeyed ago
Yep, xoxo
think- ago
:-) xoxo