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| Version 5 | Version 6 |
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| Kellyanne Conway Admits ‘Bowling Green Massacre’ Error | Kellyanne Conway Admits ‘Bowling Green Massacre’ Error |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Kellyanne Conway, the adviser to President Trump who coined the phrase “alternative facts,” is facing another round of criticism and fact-checking after she falsely spoke of a “Bowling Green massacre” by Iraqi refugees. She acknowledged and corrected her statement Friday morning on Twitter. | Kellyanne Conway, the adviser to President Trump who coined the phrase “alternative facts,” is facing another round of criticism and fact-checking after she falsely spoke of a “Bowling Green massacre” by Iraqi refugees. She acknowledged and corrected her statement Friday morning on Twitter. |
| Ms. Conway made the comment during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Hardball” on Thursday night as she discussed with the host, Chris Matthews, the executive order by Mr. Trump that suspended immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. | Ms. Conway made the comment during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Hardball” on Thursday night as she discussed with the host, Chris Matthews, the executive order by Mr. Trump that suspended immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. |
| “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 were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre,” she said. “Most people don’t know that because it didn’t get covered.” | |
| In fact, no “Bowling Green massacre” ever happened. | |
| Ms. Conway did not specify whether she meant an attack in Kentucky, Ohio or Downtown Manhattan, for that matter. But the closest circumstance to what she described occurred in Bowling Green, Ky., in late May 2011. | Ms. Conway did not specify whether she meant an attack in Kentucky, Ohio or Downtown Manhattan, for that matter. But the closest circumstance to what she described occurred in Bowling Green, Ky., in late May 2011. |
| Two Iraqi citizens, Mohanad Shareef Hammadi and Waad Ramadan Alwan, were indicted on federal terrorism charges. According to a Justice Department news release from January 2013, the two men had attempted to send weapons and money to Al Qaeda in Iraq with the aim of killing American soldiers there. | Two Iraqi citizens, Mohanad Shareef Hammadi and Waad Ramadan Alwan, were indicted on federal terrorism charges. According to a Justice Department news release from January 2013, the two men had attempted to send weapons and money to Al Qaeda in Iraq with the aim of killing American soldiers there. |
| Both defendants pleaded guilty to the federal charges, and Mr. Hammadi was sentenced to life in prison, while Mr. Alwan, whose fingerprints were found on an undetonated improvised explosive device in Iraq, was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison, with a life term of supervised release. | Both defendants pleaded guilty to the federal charges, and Mr. Hammadi was sentenced to life in prison, while Mr. Alwan, whose fingerprints were found on an undetonated improvised explosive device in Iraq, was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison, with a life term of supervised release. |
| Assistant Attorney General Lisa Monaco said at the time, “These two former Iraqi insurgents participated in terrorist activities overseas and attempted to continue providing material support to terrorists while they lived here in the United States. With today’s sentences, both men are being held accountable.” | Assistant Attorney General Lisa Monaco said at the time, “These two former Iraqi insurgents participated in terrorist activities overseas and attempted to continue providing material support to terrorists while they lived here in the United States. With today’s sentences, both men are being held accountable.” |
| Not long after Ms. Conway’s comments were debunked Thursday night, a clip of her interview went viral online, leading to ridicule and some humorous suggestions as to what she could have been referring to (namely, sports). | Not long after Ms. Conway’s comments were debunked Thursday night, a clip of her interview went viral online, leading to ridicule and some humorous suggestions as to what she could have been referring to (namely, sports). |
| On Friday morning, Ms. Conway admitted she had put out wrong information. “Honest mistakes abound,” she wrote on Twitter — and pointed to missteps the news media had made in covering the Trump administration. | On Friday morning, Ms. Conway admitted she had put out wrong information. “Honest mistakes abound,” she wrote on Twitter — and pointed to missteps the news media had made in covering the Trump administration. |
| As for her overshadowed assertion that President Barack Obama had instituted a six-month ban on the Iraqi refugee program after the Bowling Green arrests, that is not quite true either: While the Obama administration slowed the visa process, some Iraqi refugees were admitted to the United States in every month of 2011. | |
| Ms. Conway did clarify that, yes, she had been referring to the case of Mr. Hammadi and Mr. Alwan, linking in a tweet to an ABC News article from November 2013. A clarification that undermined her claim that the story “didn’t get covered.” | |
| It did. | It did. |