"That's Hawk Tuah's brother?"— Internet reacts as Hailey Welch gets dragged into Pizzagate gunman Edgar Welch conspiracy

Hailey Welch, also known as Hawk Tuah, has recently made headlines following the police shooting of Edgar Welch, aka the Pizzagate shooter. This incident occurred eight years after Edgar traveled hundreds of miles to "self-investigate" a conspiracy theory before opening fire at a pizza place in Washington, D.C., in 2016.

Additionally, conspiracy theories surrounding the Pizzagate scandal at the time of Welch's passing included claims that he was the brother of Hailey Welch. However, as reported by Distractify on January 10, Edgar and Hailey, known as the Hawk Tuah girl, appear to be related solely by their last name.

Regarding Haliey's family background, she was raised by her grandmother while her mother battled with addiction. When questioned about her mother's whereabouts during an appearance on Bill Maher's Club Random podcast, she jokingly suggested that she was likely doing crack someplace on the street. She also made no mention of any siblings.

Meanwhile, Edgar's news went viral, prompting netizens to take to X and the comment section under @nypost's post to react and fuel the rumors. One user even asked if he was Hailey, aka Hawk Tuah’s brother.

“That's hawk tuah's brother?!” asked one user.

Other netizens made similar claims. One even asserted that he was Hailey’s sibling, while another user made a pun of the sound “Hawk Tuah,” which made Hailey famous.

“Hawk Tuahs bro”, alleged another one.

“Glock thrua,” one said.

“Welch.. wait a minute,” another one commented.

Meanwhile, some reacted to the news itself. One said that it was extremely suspicious, while another one said that it was probably for the best.

“This is beyond suspicious. Yikes!” one user wrote.

“So you’re telling me that the lunatic who shot up a pizza place because he believed it was a front for a child abuse ring, didn’t just comply to a traffic stop and instead pulled a gun on cops? I’m shocked,” wrote another one.

“It’s for the best,” said another one.

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Hailey Welch aka the Hawk Tuah is not related to Edgar Welch aka the Pizzagate gunman

Edgar Welch was stopped by a Kannapolis Police Department officer on the evening of January 4, 2025, while he and a friend were driving his vehicle. The officer recognized Welch's car from a previous arrest and thought he had an outstanding warrant.

As the officer attempted to arrest him, Welch pulled a weapon on him. Both the first and the second officers instructed Welch to put down his gun. However, when he refused to comply, they shot him. As reported by 6abc news on January 10, Kannapolis Police Department Chief Terry L. Spry stated that Welch passed away two days later at a hospital.

This incident occurred eight years after Welch first gained national attention on December 4, 2016, when he attacked the Comet Ping Pong pizzeria in Washington while driving from North Carolina with an assault rifle. He did so because he believed in a conspiracy theory claiming that a child s*x trafficking ring run by well-known Democrats was operating out of the pizzeria.

According to the conspiracy theory, the pizzeria's basement was allegedly used by this child abuse network, which was said to be connected to Hillary Clinton. However, the theory was later proven to be false.

During the 2016 presidential election, the false theory started making rounds online and reached previously unheard-of heights. Subsequently, Welch entered the restaurant with an AR-15 weapon and fired shots. Fortunately, nobody was harmed.

Welch was arrested and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon. In June 2017, he pled guilty to interstate transportation of a firearm and ammunition as well as assault with a dangerous weapon. He was subsequently sentenced to four years in prison.

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As of now, Edgar's family has not released any statements regarding the recent incident.