Conway: I Misspoke About 'Bowling Green Massacre'

At least Twitter is entertained
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 3, 2017 8:44 AM CST

Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway caused a stir in an interview on MSNBC by justifying the president's new travel ban with a reference to "the Bowling Green massacre." As countless media outlets—including CNN, the Guardian, and the Hill—along with seemingly all of Twitter were quick to point out, no such massacre ever took place in the Kentucky city. Amid the hoopla, Conway tweeted Friday morning that she misspoke. Here's the original quote, to Chris Matthews: “I bet it’s brand new information to people that President Obama had a six-month ban on the Iraqi refugee program after two Iraqis came here to this country, were radicalized and they were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre. Most people don’t know that because it didn’t get covered.”

In her tweet, Conway said she meant to say Bowling Green "terrorists," not "massacre," with a link to this ABC News story from 2013. It references two Iraqi citizens who were arrested in Bowling Green in 2011 and sentenced to prison for trying to send money and weapons to al-Qaeda. The Department of Justice said neither of the men planned any attacks in the US. As for Conway's comparison of Trump's move to Obama's in 2011, the Washington Post, USA Today have declared it to be bogus. For one thing, the Iraqi refugee program slowed in 2011 after the Kentucky arrests as stronger vetting was put into place, but it never was actually halted. Meanwhile, Twitter was having fun with the mistake. "Here are all the names of the people that perished in the Bowling Green massacre," said one user, sharing a photo of a blank plaque. (More Kellyanne Conway stories.)

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