The SearchVoat Forum

A strategic approach

A legacy of Trump’s first term is that otherwise unknown citizens in and around Washington suddenly found themselves thrust into the spotlight for reasons at least tangentially related to the president.


James Alefantis sits inside Comet Ping Pong, which has been the target of conspiracy theories, on Tuesday. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

James Alefantis was one of them after his pizza restaurant, Comet Ping Pong, became the target of a gunman who, based on rumors curated on the internet’s dark fringes, suspected the restaurant was harboring sexually abused children. Among those who perpetuated rumors about “Pizzagate,” as it became known, were Trump supporters, including the son of retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, the national security adviser at the beginning of Trump’s first term.

Comet still gets anonymous calls about abused kids, Alefantis said. The restaurant recently found itself in the news again when North Carolina police shot and killed the “Pizzagate” gunman, Edgar Maddison Welch.

Trump’s return, Alefantis said, is “sad for the people who could be deported” and “makes me scared for the city.” But he’s not going anywhere. Nor is the restaurant, its distinctive neon sign above the entrance, though there will be security in place during the inaugural festivities.

“I remember when the Bushes came in and I thought it was the end of the world, and then it wasn’t,” he said. “In the end, I’m a restaurant owner and my job is to show people a good time, and that involves not living in fear.”