A North Carolina man who fired an assault rifle multiple times inside a pizza restaurant in Washington, D.C., will face federal charges. The suspect — 28-year-old Edgar Maddison Welch — told police he was investigating the online conspiracy theory known as "pizzagate." Our Washington bureau reporter Geoff Bennett has the latest.

Edgar Maddison Welch stands accused of firing an assault rifle inside of a Washington, D.C., pizzeria last Sunday.

We were in the courtroom Tuesday afternoon, as federal prosecutors charged Welch with a felony.

He's accused of interstate transportation of a firearm with intent to commit an offense, which carries a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison.

Prosecutors say Welch went into the Comet Ping Pong pizzeria and fired an AR-15 rifle multiple times inside. No one was hurt in the incident.

Bartender Lee Elmore witnessed it as it unfolded.

"One of the hosts runs up and was like, 'Did you see that guy? He had a big gun,'" Elmore said.

He says that's when workers called the police and started getting people out of the building.

"He didn't make eye contact with anybody," Elmore said. "He didn't ask for any help."

According to court documents, Welch told police he was drawn to the restaurant to investigate what was actually a baseless online conspiracy theory — that the restaurant was the site of a child trafficking ring linked to Hillary Clinton and other prominent Democrats.

Police say Welch surrendered after not discovering evidence of children being held there. The case made national headlines, as it underscores the real-life consequences of the fake news stories and conspiracy theories fueled by social media.