An Air Force base in North Dakota walked back a statement discouraging service members warning prospective attendees about the potential danger of attending this weekend’s conservative-leaning “Dakota Patriot Rally.”
Leaders at Minot Air Force Base were told to “exercise caution if downtown this weekend” due to a conservative rally occurring that would feature a speaker from Turning Point USA, which was labeled as “alt-right.”
“Please remind them that participation with groups such as Turning Point Action could jeopardize their continued service in the U.S. military,” read the message, which also warned about security concerns.
After backlash from members of Congress and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, the base walked back the statement.
“The message was based on incorrect data and sent outside of official base messaging platforms,” the base reportedly wrote in an updated statement. “Once the error was identified, base security officials corrected the message traffic to categorize the event as a local political fundraiser, with no security concerns.”