Comet Ping Pong

Jose Luis Magana / AP Photo

Does Lady Gaga, who is in town to perform the National Anthem at Wednesday’s inauguration, know that she helped drive away a group of right-wing conspiracy theorists from Comet Ping Pong on Inauguration Eve?

The scene, which unfolded Tuesday evening, was a strange end to the Trump era in D.C. A small group of conspiracy theorists who expressed homophobic and anti-abortion views gathered outside the Chevy Chase restaurant for a protest, according to reports. They were ultimately driven away by a group of residents who blasted Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” among other tunes, and danced in front of the restaurant. D.C. police also arrived to monitor the situation.

The restaurant and music venue has been plagued by threats from far-right conspiracy theorists for years, because there are people who perpetuate the false belief that the restaurant is involved in a child trafficking ring. (Indeed, one of the protesters on Tuesday told Washingtonian he was at the restaurant because of “pedophilia.”) In 2016, the conspiracy — commonly referred to as Pizzagate — resulted in gunfire: A man walked into the restaurant with a gun, pointed it at an employee, and fired one shot. No injuries were reported.

The Pizzagate conspiracy seemed to be what brought Tuesday’s group out as well: One of the protesters told Washingtonian he was at the restaurant because of “pedophilia.”

Comet Ping Pong owner James Alefantis did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

On Tuesday, Alefantis responded to the small group of about 20 protesters outside his restaurant with a bit of humor—by blasting music and offering them champagne. In a video posted by Washingtonian journalists at the scene, Alefantis approached the group with a tray of glasses, when one of the protesters took a glass of champagne and poured it out. Then, the protester proceeded to smash the rest of the glasses accidentally as he placed the glass back on the tray. Eventually, the group of protesters left after the gathering of restaurant patrons and neighbors who came to dance and counter-demonstrate outnumbered them, according to Washingtonian.

Later in the evening, the restaurant tweeted that “all is calm and safe. Tonight at Comet — fear and hate showed up. We and our neighbors danced them away. Love wins. Thank you!”

Last spring, as the restaurant was dealing with adjusting to the coronavirus, Alefantis reported an uptick in hate messages connected to the Pizzagate conspiracy. At the time, Alefantis told Washingtonian that he and his staff have gotten used to consistently getting “a few weird messages a week” throughout President Donald Trump’s term.

Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh took to Twitter on Tuesday to voice her concern over the repeated harassment of Comet Ping Pong, saying that she could “not believe this [was] happening again.”

Later, Cheh expressed her joy that her constituents drove the small crowd of protesters away.

“Earlier tonight, a group of extreme conspiracy theorists gathered to protest outside of Comet Ping Pong,” she wrote. “Moments ago, they were driven off by a group of dancing #Ward3 residents blaring Lady Gaga. #WeAreDC.”

The Comet Ping Pong protest took place miles from a much calmer scene downtown, where tens of thousands of National Guard troops are stationed ahead of Wednesday’s inauguration. Officials and experts anticipated far-right violence in the city this week, following the siege on the U.S. Capitol earlier this month. But for the most part, the leadup to the inauguration has been quiet.

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