Republican candidate Greg Gianforte, who is competing in the special election for Montana's vacant U.S. House seat, has been cited for misdemeanor assault following a reporter's accusation Wednesday that he was "body slammed" by Gianforte.
Ben Jacobs, a reporter for the Guardian, reported in a tweet initially that Gianforte "body slammed me and broke my glasses" at Gianforte's campaign headquarters south of Bozeman, Mont. Following that tweet, audio of the incident was released and a Fox News crew that witnessed the incident said they saw "Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him," followed by punching.
Gianforte's campaign spokesman Shane Scanlon gave a much different account, saying Jacobs "aggressively shoved a recorder in Greg's face ... Greg then attempted to grab the phone that was pushed in his face. Jacobs grabbed Greg's wrist, spun away from Greg, pushing them both to the ground. It's unfortunate that this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ."
After conducting multiple interviews as part of its investigation, the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office said it had determined "there was probable cause to issue a citation to Greg Gianforte for misdemeanor assault." The statement from Sheriff Brian Gootkin added that the "nature of the injuries did not meet the statutory elements of felony assault."
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05.07.2024