Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) is finally backpedaling on her bogus claim that headless bodies have been found in the Arizona desert, the alleged product of illegal immigration.
“That was an error, if I said that,” Brewer told the Associated Press yesterday. “I misspoke, but you know, let me be clear, I am concerned about the border region because it continues to be reported in Mexico that there’s a lot of violence going on and we don’t want that going into Arizona.”
As TPM reported earlier this summer, Brewer, who has risen to national prominence thanks to her tough stances on illegal immigration, claimed that “our law enforcement agencies have found bodies in the desert, either buried or just lying out there, that have been beheaded.” Here’s the video:
Brewer has since repeatedly failed to provide any evidence for that claim. After her opponent battered her with questions about the supposed beheadings during this week’s gubernatorial debate (which featured this disastrous opening statement performance), Brewer refused to answer reporters’ questions on her beheading claims. Here’s the video (the good stuff starts around 1:50):
With criticism rising for her failure to justify her earlier beheadings claim, Brewer tried to explain to the Arizona Daily Star.
“All you guys were doing and talking were beheadings, beheadings, beheadings,” Brewer told the newspaper. “That is something that has stuck with you all for so long, and I just felt we needed to move on.”
She also contended that when discussing the headless bodies, she “never said ‘Arizona,’ and it’s unfortunate that it was construed as ‘Arizona.'”
And now, in an interview with the Associated Press, Brewer has finally acknowledged that she was wrong.
“That was an error, if I said that.”
She said she was referring to beheadings and other cartel-related violence in Mexico in comments she made earlier this summer about decapitated bodies found in the state’s southern region.
