Record of the Press · 2012–Present
Released to the public · 31 OCT 2026File TBL-0003
RETRACTED

ABC Links Aurora Shooter to the Tea Party

20 JUL 2012 · ABC News
Screenshot of the page as published at goodmorningamerica.com
EXHIBIT A — Page capture from goodmorningamerica.com. Click to open the source.

■ The claim

During live coverage of the Aurora, Colorado theater shooting, ABC's Brian Ross suggested that a Jim Holmes listed with a Colorado Tea Party group might be the suspect.

■ What actually happened

On the morning of July 20, 2012, Ross raised a possible Tea Party link on Good Morning America, based on a web page for a different Jim Holmes. Later in the coverage he said on air that the report was wrong, and ABC News and Ross apologized for airing it before it was checked. ABC added an editor's note to its online story. ABC News president Ben Sherwood later called it an unfortunate mistake that did not meet the network's standards.

■ The proof

ABC's own editor's note says the Tea Party report was incorrect. The Tea Party Jim Holmes was a different man from the shooter, James Eagan Holmes.

■ Original reporting

■ Corrections, findings & records

■ Wayback Machine copies

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■ Grade

RETRACTED: The outlet itself retracted, corrected, or settled. How we grade →