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Montana GOP candidate cited after reporter alleged he was ‘body slammed’

Seaborn Larson
Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune
Republican congressional candidate Greg Gianforte is pictured talking with supporters during a campaign meet and greet.

GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Greg Gianforte, the Republican candidate in the Montana U.S. House special election, was cited for misdemeanor assault Wednesday evening after a national political reporter claimed he was "body slammed" by him.

The citation came on the eve of the vote scheduled for Thursday.

After the assault citation was issued, two Montana newspapers — the Missoulian and the Billings Gazette — rescinded their endorsement of Gianforte.

More:Close Montana race could be Republicans' latest sign of Trump-sized trouble

"Greg Gianforte just body slammed me and broke my glasses," reporter Ben Jacobs wrote on Twitter. Jacobs works out of Washington, D.C., for the Guardian, a daily newspaper published in the United Kingdom.

"There was a local TV crew there when Gianforte body slammed me," Jacobs said.

Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin said in a release that his office had completed an investigation of the incident and determined there was probable cause to cite Gianforte.

The maximum penalty if convicted of the assault charge is a $500 fine and six months in jail. The sheriff’s department said in its statement that Jacobs’ injuries did not meet the legal definition of felony assault.

Gootkin also addressed media reports that he had contributed to Gianforte's campaign, acknowledging he had donated $250, but, "This contribution has nothing to do with our investigation which is now complete."

In an emailed statement to the Tribune, Gianforte spokesman Shane Scanlon said Jacobs initiated the confrontation when he entered an interview uninvited.

"Tonight, as Greg was giving a separate interview in a private office, The Guardian's Ben Jacobs entered the office without permission, aggressively shoved a recorder in Greg's face, and began asking badgering questions. Jacobs was asked to leave. After asking Jacobs to lower the recorder, Jacobs declined," Scanlon wrote. 

“Greg then attempted to grab the phone that was pushed in his face. Jacobs grabbed Greg's wrist, and 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.”

"I'm sick and tired of you guys. The last time you were here you did the same thing," Gianforte allegedly said to the reporter. Gianforte is heard making the statements on an audio recording posted by the Guardian.

"You just body slammed me and broke my glasses," Jacobs is heard responding.

"Get the hell out of here," Gianforte says.

Fox News, which had a reporter at the scene of the altercation, reported Wednesday night that Gianforte "grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him."

The reporter and two Fox crew members "watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the man as he moved on top of the reporter and began yelling something to the effect of 'I'm sick and tired of this!' "

According to earlier Tweets from Bozeman Daily Chronicle reporter Whitney Bermes, the sheriff’s office was in contact with the Gallatin County Attorney, as well as five reported witnesses to the incident. The sheriff’s office collected the evidence in the investigation, including the audio recorded, presumably by Jacobs. The sheriff's office was unaware if Gianforte reported any injuries, according to Bermes.

Wednesday's incident comes just one day before the special election in which Gianforte is running against Democratic candidate Rob Quist and Libertarian Mark Wicks. Polls thus far have shown Gianforte with a single-digit lead over Quist. 

The Montana special election to fill the seat in the U.S. House left vacant when Ryan Zinke resigned to become secretary of the Interior Department, has drawn national and international attention, especially as Thursday's vote neared. The race has attracted major media outlets and political players stumping for the candidates, including Vice President Mike Pence, the president's son Donald Trump Jr. and Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders.

The alleged scuffle led cable news outlets throughout the night on the eve of the election and also was the top trending topic on Twitter.

The Quist campaign declined to comment on the incident.

Wicks offered his take on what happened.

“It’s been a long time since he’s not been able to solve everything with money and lawyers and he’s feeling frustrated that things are spinning out of his control,” Wicks said.

"The Guardian is deeply appalled by how our reporter, Ben Jacobs, was treated in the course of doing his job as a journalist while reporting on the Montana special election," Guardian U.S. editor Lee Glendinning wrote in an email to the Tribune. "We are committed to holding power to account and we stand by Ben and our team of reporters for the questions they ask and the reporting that is produced."

The Guardian reported on April 28 that Gianforte has financial ties to a number of Russian companies that have been sanctioned by the United States. His spokesman said Gianforte did not oversee his portfolio on a day-to-day basis. Instead Gianforte focused on the "overall performance." 

At a campaign stop in Hamilton in April, a Gianforte supporter asked the candidate how to rein in the news media, which the man called "our biggest enemy." Gianforte smiled and pointed to a reporter and said, "We have someone right here. It seems like there is more of us than there is of him," according to the Ravalli Republic.

Writing in a late-night editorial, the Missoulian said Gianforte "should lose the confidence of all Montanans."

The newspaper went on to write "there is no doubt that Gianforte committed an act of terrible judgment that, if it doesn't land him in jail, also shouldn't land him in the U.S. House of Representatives."

The Gazette announced its revocation of support via Twitter: "Gazette opinion: We're pulling our endorsement of Gianforte #mtpol #mtal #montana http://buff.ly/2qRD4HX"

The newspapers' disavowal and Gianforte's conduct so late in the race may not affect the outcome because many Montanans have already voted early or via absentee ballot. In 2016, 45% of the state's 688,000 registered voters returned absentee ballots, according to the Associated Press.

Contributing: Phil Drake, Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune; The Associated Press.