On this day in conspiracies

Ottoman authorities arrest and deport hundreds of Armenian intellectuals, clergy, and community leaders in the capital, Constantinople (Istanbul). Most are later killed. The date, now commemorated as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, marks the effective start of the destruction of the empire's Armenian elite.

At about 5:45 p.m., patrolman Lonnie Zamora, 31, breaks off pursuit of a speeder south of Socorro after hearing a roar and seeing a flame. Following it up a gravel track, he reports a shiny, egg-shaped object on the ground roughly 150 yards away with two small figures in white coveralls beside it. As he nears, the object rises on a roaring blue-and-orange flame and departs to the southwest. Zamora reports a red insignia on its side.

The Tacoma News Tribune publishes an account of the encounter accompanied by a sketch of the creature by artist Dave Kiele, drawn from Canfield's description. The story gives the Batsquatch legend its first durable printed record.

At a ceremony in Guatemala City's cathedral, Gerardi presents Guatemala: Nunca Más, the report of the Catholic Church's Recovery of Historical Memory Project (REMHI), which he had coordinated. Drawing on thousands of testimonies, it attributes roughly 80 to 90 percent of the war's atrocities to the army and its collaborators.

The GIEI presents its second and final report before its mandate ends. It documents obstruction of its work and finds no scientific basis for the dump-cremation account. The IACHR later establishes a Special Follow-Up Mechanism (MESA) to continue monitoring the case.

Three days after the bombings, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a former wartime defence secretary, announces he will seek the presidency, campaigning heavily on national security.