Man arrested in arson at Comet Ping Pong, D.C. restaurant associated with 'Pizzagate'
WASHINGTON (ABC7) — The man wanted for starting a fire at Comet Ping Pong, the D.C. restaurant associated with a debunked conspiracy theory that claimed Hillary Clinton was operating a child sex ring out of its basement, has been arrested.
Ryan Rimas Jaselskis, 22, was arrested Wednesday on a federal arson charge for the Jan. 23 fire at the restaurant.
According to court documents, Jaselskis, an actor who also goes by the stage name Ryan Rimas, is the same man who was arrested by U.S. Park Police on both Feb. 4 and 5 for climbing the fence around the Washington Monument. At least one of the incidents was captured on video and shared online.
For the first of the two arrests, he was charged with assault on a police officer and unlawful entry; for the second arrest, he was charged with unlawful entry, destruction of public property and contempt.
Following the first arrest, Jaselskis was released and issued a "Stay Away Order" through the DC Superior Court for the Washington Monument grounds.
Jaselskis was arrested for the arson after ATF examined his jacket on Feb. 12 and found it to be consistent to that of the individual caught on surveillance video setting the fire inside of Comet Ping Pong. His mugshot was also consistent to the surveillance video of the suspect who set the fire.
A witness also determined that Jaselskis was the same individual who set the fire after they were presented with a nine-person photo array. According to the court documents, the suspect looked at the witness and other individuals and mumbled something as he was leaving the back room where the fire was set.
Further, Jaselskis is the registered owner of a 2007 Toyota Matrix bearing California license plate tags 6ANX580. After the fire was ignited, the suspect was seen on an MPD-owned camera leaving the Comet Ping Pong and walking west across Connecticut Avenue out of camera view. Approximately two minutes later, a DC Department of Transportation camera captured a vehicle consistent with a 2007 Toyota Matrix leaving the area.
The same vehicle was then captured on camera on several different instances, including later on the same day of the fire, Feb. 5, 6 and 7.
Following the fire, a restaurant employee told ABC7 News that Jaselskis bought three beers, paid with a credit card and tipped more than 20 percent. He then allegedly set a thick black curtain on fire and left behind a diaper and baby food, seemingly nodding to the “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory.
In his headshot on his IMDb profile, Rimas is wearing what appears to be the same blue jacket he is seen wearing on surveillance video during the time of the Comet Ping Pong fire and both arrests for jumping the fence at the Washington Monument.
