More than half of Trump voters say the nonexistent Bowling Green Massacre is proof Trump's immigration ban is necessary

Bowling Green Massacre.
(Image credit: KYLE GRILLOT/AFP/Getty Images)

Over 50 percent of people who voted for President Donald Trump in the 2016 election say that the Bowling Green Massacre — which never occurred — is proof that Trump's ban on travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries is necessary, a new Public Policy Polling survey found. Fifty-one percent of Trump voters said the nonexistent Bowling Green Massacre was proof of the need for heightened security, while just 2 percent of Hillary Clinton voters said the same.

Kellyanne Conway has repeatedly cited the "Bowling Green Massacre" in interviews, although she later said she "misspoke." Conway had apparently intended to reference two "radicalized" Iraqi refugees who were arrested in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in 2011 for attempting to send weapons and money to al Qaeda. Though both men are serving life sentences, the FBI said that neither man was charged with "plotting attacks within the United States," nor did the men have any intent to do so.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.