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Megyn Kelly expressed disbelief, horror, and sympathy in an exclusive first interview with Comet Ping Pong owner James Alefantis following the Pizzagate scare that erupted two weeks ago.
Alefantis and the staff of his restaurant were targeted by a gunman after a viral fake news story suggested Bill and Hillary Clinton ran a child sex ring out of their D.C. pizza parlor; no
one was injured. "When people talk about fake news, you know, a lot of folks just roll their eyes, like 'oh, you know, whatever, people will figure it out.' The truth is, they
_don't_ always figure it out," Kelly told Alefantis. "And someone could have been killed inside of your restaurant for no good reason other than people like Alex Jones fanned
a conspiracy theory that even the D.C. police say has no basis in fact." "This has real consequences," Alefantis agreed. "My staff lives in fear. My staff are the
bravest people I've ever met … Imagine someone coming to your work place with an assault rife." SUBSCRIBE TO THE WEEK Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus
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Week delivered directly to your inbox. From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. "And to be accused of
being a pedophile because you have emails that talk about pizza," Kelly said, in utter disbelief. "When you _run_ a pizza parlor. I mean, they're like, 'the word
'pizza' seems out of place' — it's _really_ gone down the rabbit hole." Kelly also gave Alefantis an opportunity to explain an Instagram photo that conspiracy
theorists had cited as evidence of the sex ring, but not without offering this preface: "You're a Democratic donor. There's nothing illegal about that. It doesn't make
you a pedophile or somebody who's part of a child sex ring." Watch below. Jeva Lange Explore More Speed Reads