Daily Beast: “An unlikely partnership between a QAnon influencer and a Washington, D.C. diner popular with lawmakers has ended in chaos, with the diner’s owner claiming she’s owed $10,000 and the conspiracy theorist wanted for arrest in two states on unrelated charges. QAnon promoter Richard Potcner’s relationship with Pete’s Diner owner Gum Tong started in late January, when Potcner claimed in a video posted to social media platform Telegram that he had established an ‘open tab’ at the diner. Potcner urged National Guard soldiers guarding the Capitol in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riot to order meals on his tab at the Capitol Hill diner, once a frequent breakfast spot for former Speaker of the House John Boehner.”

“As the bills piled up, Potcner asked his 200,000 Telegram followers to send him money so he could pay Tong for the meals. For months after that, Potcner posted videos of himself settling his tab with donated money from his fans. When Potcner’s tab would run out, Tong would continue to serve the meals, only to be paid back later by Potcner. One day, though, Potcner stopped visiting the restaurant to pay his bill, according to Tong. Tong claims Potcner now owes her $10,000 on an outstanding bill for the meals. ‘He got the money from the people,’ Tong said, referring to Potcner’s donors. ‘But we didn’t get the money from him.’ Potcner didn’t respond to a request for comment. In a post on his Telegram account, Potcner made various allegations against Tong, and pointed out that many of the soldiers who were eating at the diner have already left Washington. Potcner also complained that Tong hadn’t given him any freebies of his own, even after he spent $60,000 in donations at the restaurant. ‘Gum had me running to Costco, doing errands etc.’ Potcner wrote. ‘Yet ask me if she ever gave me one free meal let alone one free coffee??'”