Left-wing journalist Slade Sohmer, who is rumored to have been involved with the debunking of the “pizzagate” conspiracy theory, has been arrested on charges of possession of child pornography.
Massachusetts authorities confirmed the East Otis resident had been arraigned with four charges of child pornography and a cash bail of $100,000 with strict conditions of no internet access, mandatory location notification, and no contact with children.
Sohmer, 44, was the former editor-in-chief of the left-leaning news outlet The Recount. According to Sohmer’s LinkedIn page, he also has worked since 2010 as a co-director of “Camp Power,” a nonprofit for disadvantaged children in New York City. He previously worked at SiriusXM Radio, HyperVocal, news outlet Mic, and video news company Beme which has been acquired by CNN.
The Recount’s parent company The News Movement told The New York Post that Sohmer had stepped down as editor-in-chief in October following a restructuring “to focus on our editorial and commercial plans.”
Assistant District Attorney Marianne Shelvy told the Post that this was one of the most “egregious” cases of child pornography possession she had seen.
After the arrest, Buzzfeed subsequently deleted an article that featured Sohmer talking to fourth graders in his mother’s classroom.
BuzzFeed took this down 👀👀https://t.co/E75fnwee8u pic.twitter.com/oUu5uDEHPW
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) November 15, 2023
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Dozens of alternative media outlets reported that Sohmer was a major debunker of the “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory.
“Pizzagate” was a constellation of related conspiracy theories alleging that a ring of pedophile sex trafficking was operating out of the Comet Ping Pong pizzeria in Washington, D.C. As Martyr Made, the co-host of the Jocko Willink podcast, retells in a Substack post, the theories rose to prominence in 2016 amid the historic presidential election of Donald Trump when more than 10,000 emails from Democratic operative John Podesta obtained by Julian Assange’s Wikileaks were released. Online forum users speculated that the emails contained coded references to child sex trafficking, allegedly using the term “CP” or “cheese pizza” as a stand-in for “child porn,” a term apparently common among pedophiles.
Valuetainment could not find evidence to support the claim that Sohmer was a critic of the theory, but humorously John Podesta did in fact “thank” him for a tweet in 2017. Sohmer’s tweet did not concern Pizzagate coverage but was rather an attempt at humor, wherein he suggested Trump’s infamous orb picture with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi led to the formation of a sinkhole at Mar-A-Lago.
An investigation into Sohmer by the Berkshire County Law Enforcement Task Force began in June 2023 after they received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. A search warrant was executed on Oct. 17, 2023 and led to the confiscation of Sohmer’s phones and other electronic devices.
The investigation uncovered more than a thousand explicit images and videos with hundreds depicting the assault of minors as young as three-years-old. Authorities also confirm Sohmer produced at least one video of child porn.
The Task Force found conversations between Sohmer and an accomplice on instant messaging service Telegram about luring, kidnapping, and assaulting children. The messages apparently involved discussions of facilitating child rape and as well as exchanges of child porn. Sohmer is also said to have been active on Snapchat.
Sohmer was reportedly released on bail Monday after pleading not guilty to the four counts. He must report his location to his parole officers as he awaits trial, which is set to begin Dec. 21st. If convicted of all charges, he will face a mandatory sentence of 15 years.
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