The Washington Post's article can be found at this link
Should The Washington Post decide to remove this article from their archives, I have took the liberty of screenshotting each part and compiling all of the sections into an image which will now be made permanent on the STEEM block chain.
This article speaks of an Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting in Washington. The purpose of this meeting appears to be to consider the application of several licenses which Comet Ping Pong Pizza had applied for, including one to stay open later in the evenings.
At this meeting, Frank Winstead--a Washington neighborhood commissioner, is said to have accused Comet of designs to bring a haven of rape and murder to Washington.
Note that the very title of this article is already leading the reader to think that the accuser is crazy.
"D.C. Official: Outdoor Seats At Pizza Place Will Mean Rapes And Murders"
The idea that putting some seating outside of a pizza place could lead to rapes and murders is beyond ridiculous. This is an intentionally misleading title. Yes, this may have been a meeting to determine whether James Alefantis would receive a license to put seating outside of his restaurant. And yes, there may have been accusations of rape and murder at the meeting, but the author of this article has written the title in a way that leads the reader to believe that Winston mentioned the latter was as a direct result of the former. No such quote can be found in the article.
I think this looks like a smear piece meant to completely discredit Frank Winstead, and perhaps even to warn off any others of making accusations.
At no point in the article do they tell us why the commissioner was throwing these accusations at James Alefantis and Comet. It seems irrational for someone to accuse someone of such significant crimes without any good reason, which is obviously the point. Mr. Winstead may possibly have had a good reason for making such claims, yet we are painted a picture of a seriously unhinged man, rather than a passionate citizen with genuine fears.
I was able to find the video mentioned in the article.
This video was recorded to show likely hazards of playing ping pong outside, yet perhaps worryingly, a child can be heard to be in distress in the background, though it doesn't seem that Winstead had noticed this.
I don't know what to make of this. What are the chances that James Alefantis would be at the centre of pizza gate, and also just happen to have been accused of the same crimes 8 years prior? Seems too much of a coincidence to me.
This paragraph was also interesting;
"I don't think I've ever seen that much support for any establishment before," says Mital Gandhi, a commissioner who led the push for more lenient rules for Comet. Gandhi says the community made its distaste for Winstead's actions and words quite clear. "The whole crowd was just booing this guy. They were all disgusted."
Comet received an unusually high amount of support apparently, and Winstead was ridiculed and ostracized. This is where to me it almost seems like a warning to others. If you had suspicions too, or even more than that, you'd now be very hesitant to speak up about it after witnessing what happened to the last one who did.
With a lot more ridicule and comments like this,"Who were the morons, besides Winstead, who voted against Comet?" many would be discouraged from ever speaking out against Comet in future. Especially with there overwhelming support.
Do you guys think this is just a coincidence, and that Winstead is as unhinged as the article and comments imply, or do you think this is an intentional silencing of and deterrent of future allegations against Comet?
This was 8 fucking years ago though, so if it's all true then they have been arrogantly getting away with this for a long time, and would explain why they felt brazen enough to make some of the posts, and display some of the paintings and all the other in your face shit they have pulled.
I will continue to post what I find-
It may be worth giving this a resteem to get the word out to others who are investigating Pizzagate. Some of the names in this article, particularly the one who lead the charge in defense of Comet, could be potential points of further investigation. I also wonder what, if anything is Winstead sitting on that lead him to make those accusations 8 years ago.