Coulter recounts the story of Patricia Mendoza, who screamed epithets at President Clinton during a 1996 visit to Chicago. According to Coulter, the president "approached her and tried to shake her hand." Mendoza then yelled, "You suck" at him and was "immediately pounced upon by Secret Service agents ... and held for twelve hours by the president's Secret Service detail."

In fact:

1) The President did not approach Mendoza.

2) She did not simply yell "You suck." She yelled, according to several witnesses, "You suck and you should die." (Mendoza claims that she yelled, "You suck and those boys died," referring to the Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia.) Leaving off "and you should die" distorts the story. The Secret Service questioned her not because she was insulting the president ("You suck") but because she was threatening the president ("and you should die").

3) She was not "immediately pounced upon by Secret Service agents." She was approached quietly 15 minutes later.

4) She was not "held for twelve hours by the president's Secret Service detail." The Secret Service spoke to her for a few minutes and then left. She was arrested by the Chicago police for disorderly conduct: She was screaming curses at officers. It was the police who held her.