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The Associated Press

Trump aide Conway says she misspoke on 'massacre'

Kellyanne Conway
Counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway prepares to appear on "Meet The Press" from the north lawn at the White House on Jan. 22.
Mark Wilson | Getty Images

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Updated: 11:15 a.m. | Posted: 6:56 a.m.

A top aide to President Donald Trump said Friday she misspoke when she cited a 2011 "massacre" in Kentucky that never happened.

A day earlier, during an interview with MSNBC's Chris Matthews, Kellyanne Conway defended Trump's temporary ban on immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations by saying that former President Barack Obama instituted a similar policy for Iraqi refugees in 2011.

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

It didn't happen.

Conway tweeted Friday morning that she meant to say "Bowling Green terrorists" during the interview. Her description of the 2011 Obama administration policy as a ban was also a mischaracterization, which she didn't correct.

Obama never banned Iraqi refugees or other Iraqi travelers from coming to the United States. His administration did slow down the processing for Iraqis seeking Special Immigrant Visas, which are given to translators and interpreters who worked with the U.S. in that country.

The slowdown was prompted by the May 2011 arrest of two men in Kentucky charged with plotting to send weapons and money to al-Qaida operatives abroad. Waad Ramadan Alwan and Mohanad Shareef Hammadi, were mistakenly admitted to the U.S. as Iraqi refugees in 2009 and resettled in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Alwan and Hammadi are in prison after pleading guilty. They were never accused of plotting to launch attacks inside the U.S.

According to State Department data, 9,388 Iraqi refugees were admitted to the United States during the 2011 budget year. The data also show that Iraqi refugees were admitted every month during the 2011 calendar year.

In addition, more than 7,800 Iraqis were allowed into the United States on nonimmigrant visas, including tourists, during the 2011 budget year, government data show.