'Bowling Green Massacre': Kellyanne Conway Cites Attack That Didn't Exist

Kellyanne Conway, one of President Trump's top advisers, admitted Friday that she made a mistake when, in a defense of the White House's immigration ban, she cited the "Bowling Green massacre" — an attack that never happened.

Conway made her comments in an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews that aired Thursday night.

"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," Conway said. "Most people don’t know that because it didn’t get covered."

The closest thing to a "Bowling Green massacre" that Conway would have been referencing were two Iraqi citizens who were arrested in Bowling Green, Kentucky, for trying to send weapons and money back to Al-Qaeda.

The men, though, did not carry out any sort of attack on U.S. soil. They pleaded guilty to federal terrorism charges.

"While in 2011, two Iraqi nationals living in Bowling Green were arrested for attempting to provide money and wwapons to terrorists in Iraq, there was no massacre in Bowling Green," Bowling Green Mayor Bruce Wilkerson said in a statement.

And, for the record, Sam Biederman, a spokesman for the New York City Parks Department, said there has been no terrorist activity in Manhattan's Bowling Green Park.

(And while President Obama did institute stricter vetting measures for Iraq refugees in 2011, there was no "six-month ban.")

Needless to say, Conway — also of "alternative facts" fame — received her fair share of ridicule on Twitter.

Conway owned up to her mistake on Twitter on Friday morning, pointing out times when reporters covering the White House made mistakes.

"On @hardball @NBCNews @MSNBC I meant to say 'Bowling Green terrorists' as reported here," she tweeted, linking to an ABC News article.

(As The New York Times points out, linking to ABC News also undermines her claim that "it didn’t get covered.")

"Honest mistakes abound," she said. "Last night, prominent editor of liberal site apologized for almost running a story re: tweet from fake account yet won't name him, attack him, get the base 2 descend upon him. Same with MLKJr bust fake story. It's called class, grace, deep breath."

On the night of Trump's inauguration, Time reporter Zeke Miller incorrectly reported that a bust of Martin Luther King had been removed from the White House. Minutes later, he issued a correction to White House pool reporters and apologized to the administration.

While White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer tweeted back "apology accepted" that night. White House officials, including Spicer, Trump and Conway, though, have continued to point out the incident as evidence of a "dishonest" media.

Wilkerson, the Bowling Green mayor, said he appreciated Conway's correction on the nonexistant massacre.

"I understand during a live interview how one can misspeak and we appreciate the clarification," he said.

Image via MSNBC