The leadership of the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base has issued a response to a wave of controversy that was generated earlier this week after an unofficial communication was sent, warning base personnel not to attend a recent political rally in Minot.

In a prepared statement from the 5th Bomb Wing Public Affairs Office, leadership said they were aware of the message, which said attendees of the event could be “confrontational” to military members, but described it as “unofficial” and based on “erroneous data.”

“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,” the statement read.

The event called Dakota Patriot Rally was held at the state fairgrounds on Friday, Nov. 17, and included a meal and live auction. It was headlined by the appearance of Tyler Bowyer, the chief operating officer of the conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA. TPUSA was not involved in organizing the event.

Minot businessman and GOP District 40 Chairman Jay Lundeen, one of the organizers of the event, said he became aware of the message while the event was in progress. After seeing the message for himself later that night, Lundeen said the message was “disappointing to say the least.”

The message in question was circulated among service members that day, advising that the event would be going on and personnel should, “exercise caution if downtown this weekend.”

The message, later posted to an online Air Force forum, described Bowyer as being from “an alt-right organization” and further stated the “crowds this event may attract could be confrontational to military members.” It alluded to the possibility of a connection to a shooting that took place in Minot on Nov. 17. The message concluded with an admonition that leaders remind their teams “that participation with groups such as Turning Point Action could jeopardize their continued service in the US military.”

“It’s truly appalling, on many many levels,” Lundeen said. “There needs to be a public apology. We are an organization that loves our American tradition, that loves our military. I’m prior service. Half of the people at our events are prior service or some even are active duty. To say that you’d be jeopardizing your career for going is just utter blasphemy.”

Though base security issued an official internal correction 52 minutes after the erroneous messages were sent, the public statement addressing the issue was not released until the controversy hit national news four days later, after screenshots of the message were forwarded to national news outlets.

The statement further indicated the message also was not sent on official messaging platforms and the officer’s group chat message was based on incorrect data picked up by base security that led to the tentative warning.

“Further, the updated message communicated there were no issues with military members participating in their personal capacity — in line with their First Amendment Rights. That said there are some limitations placed on an Airman’s ability to participate in political events in an official capacity. These limitations are set by ethical guidelines in the Code of Federal Regulations in order to maintain the politically neutral stance of the US Military,” the statement concluded.

U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-ND, issued a series of statements regarding the incident, decrying what he called “the extreme, left-leaning political activism alive in the Department of Defense” among other general concerns for the military’s inability to prioritize warfighting.

“I had a cordial, intense telephone call with the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General David Allvin, about troublesome communications from the Minot Air Force Base,” Cramer said. “It’s disgusting to me that anybody in our Air Force today would consider a Turning Point USA event anything other than a pro-American, patriotic, and frankly, pro-military group. During our call, General Allvin laid out the timeline of events and corrections, but it wasn’t adequate, and a greater apology is needed. The Air Force should apologize to Turning Point, to the greater Minot community, and to the God-fearing Americans who hold the same traditional conservative values.”