first_published_at,last_published_at,title,slug,latest_revision_created_at,charges,legal_orders,updates,categories,links,equipment_seized,equipment_broken,targeted_journalists,authors,date,exact_date_unknown,city,state,latitude,longitude,body,introduction,teaser,teaser_image,primary_video,image_caption,arrest_status,arresting_authority,release_date,detention_date,unnecessary_use_of_force,case_number,case_statuses,case_type,status_of_seized_equipment,is_search_warrant_obtained,actor,border_point,target_us_citizenship_status,denial_of_entry,stopped_previously,did_authorities_ask_for_device_access,did_authorities_ask_about_work,assailant,was_journalist_targeted,charged_under_espionage_act,subpoena_type,subpoena_statuses,name_of_business,third_party_business,legal_order_target,legal_order_type,legal_order_venue,status_of_prior_restraint,mistakenly_released_materials,type_of_denial,targeted_institutions,tags,target_nationality,workers_whose_communications_were_obtained,politicians_or_public_figures_involved 2018-10-19 18:30:36.454788+00:00,2024-03-26 14:42:21.845871+00:00,Trump fondly recalls how congressman Greg Gianforte body-slammed a journalist,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/trump-fondly-recalls-how-congressman-greg-gianforte-assaulted-journalist/,2024-03-26 14:42:21.695049+00:00,,,,Other Incident,,,,Ben Jacobs (The Guardian),,2018-10-18,False,Missoula,Montana (MT),46.87215,-113.994,"
During a rally in Montana on October 18, 2018, President Donald Trump praised Republican congressman Greg Gianforte for physically assaulting a journalist in May 2017.
On May 24, the day before a special election for Montana’s open congressional seat, then-candidate Gianforte physically assaulted Guardian U.S. reporter Ben Jacobs, after Jacobs tried to ask him a question about a Republican healthcare proposal. Jacobs suffered minor injuries and the police were called. Although Gianforte reportedly lied to the police about the circumstances of the assault, eyewitnesses confirmed that Gianforte had instigated it and he was charged with misdemeanor assault. A Fox News reporter who witnessed the assault later described it:
At that point, Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him. Faith, Keith and I watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the reporter. As Gianforte moved on top of Jacobs, he began yelling something to the effect of, "I'm sick and tired of this!"
Fox News report
The day after assaulting Jacobs, Gianforte won the special election. He was sworn into Congress on June 21, 2018. Gianforte ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor assault and was sentenced to community service. He never served any jail time. As part of a civil settlement with Jacobs, Gianforte also agreed to issue a public apology and to sit for an interview with Jacobs (which he never did, according to Jacobs). He also agreed to donate $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists, which the organization earmarked to fund the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
On Oct. 18, Gianforte introduced Trump at a rally in Montana. Trump thanked Gianforte for the introduction and then fondly recalled the congressman's assault on Jacobs.
At Montana rally, Pres. Trump praises Greg Gianforte, who made national headlines during the GOP primaries for assaulting a reporter.
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) October 19, 2018
"Any guy that can do a body slam, he is my type!" Trump said to cheers. https://t.co/pej6aXuf6b pic.twitter.com/ejaSSairnK
“Greg is smart, and by the way, never wrestle him,” Trump said as the crowd laughed and cheered. “You understand that?”
“Any guy that can do a body-slam, he’s my kind of guy,” Trump continued, as he mimed picking someone up and throwing them on the ground.
Trump went on to describe how he reacted after learning that Gianforte, whom he had endorsed in the Montana special election, had assaulted a reporter.
“I shouldn’t say this, but there’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Trump said. “So I was in Rome with a lot of the leaders from other countries, talking about all sorts of things. And I heard about it — and we endorsed Greg very early — but I heard he had body-slammed a reporter!”
At this point, Trump pointed his finger at the journalists in the press pen covering his rally.
“And he was way up,” Trump continued, referring to polls that showed Gianforte was the front-runner. “And he was way up, and I said — this was like the day of the election or just before — and I said, ‘Oh, this is terrible, he’s going to lose the election.’ Then I said, ‘Well, wait a minute, I know Montana very well. I think it might help him!’ And it did.”
Along with other journalists and press freedom advocates, Guardian US editor John Mulholland condemned Trump’s remarks.
“The president of the United States tonight applauded the assault on an American journalist who works for the Guardian,” he said in a statement. “To celebrate an attack on a journalist who was simply doing his job is an attack on the first amendment by someone who has taken an oath to defend it. In the aftermath of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, it runs the risk of inviting other assaults on journalists both here and across the world where they often face far greater threats. We hope decent people will denounce these comments and that the president will see fit to apologize for them.”
Trump mimes throwing someone to the ground during a rally in Missoula, Montana, on October 18, 2018. The president fondly recalled how Greg Gianforte, Montana's Republican congressman, had body-slammed a journalist.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,[],,Donald Trump,,, 2017-10-26 00:15:15.538129+00:00,2022-04-06 20:40:11.822092+00:00,Montana GOP official says she 'would have shot' Guardian reporter who was assaulted by Rep. Gianforte,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/montana-gop-official-says-she-would-have-shot-guardian-reporter-who-was-assaulted-rep-gianforte/,2022-04-06 20:40:11.689883+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,"Montana GOP official: I 'would have shot' reporter assaulted by Gianforte (http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/356627-montana-gop-official-i-would-have-shot-reporter-assaulted-by) via The Hill, Republican official 'would have shot' Guardian reporter attacked by Gianforte (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/21/montana-gianforte-ben-jacobs-karen-marshall-would-have-shot) via The Guardian, Partial audio (https://www.facebook.com/HeenanForCongress/videos/1857613814267061/) via Facebook",,,Ben Jacobs (The Guardian),,2017-10-19,False,Bozeman,Montana (MT),45.67965,-111.03856,"Montana Republican official Karen Marshall said in a radio program on Oct. 19, 2017 that should she “would have shot” Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs if he had addressed her as he did Rep. Greg Gianforte. Marshall resigned from her position four days later.
On May 24, Republican Greg Gianforte physically assaulted reporter Ben Jacobs after he tried to interview the Congressional candidate. Gianforte body-slammed Jacobs to the ground, punched him, and broke his glasses.
Gianforte was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives the next day. He pled guilty to misdemeanor assault, has publicly apologized, and as part of a civil settlement, agreed to donate $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Marshall, who serves as the vice-president of programs for Gallatin County Republican Women, made her remarks during a Voices of Montana radio segment with attorney and Democratic Congressional candidate John Heenan.
In audio of the radio segment posted to John Heenan for Congress Facebook page, Marshall called herself a friend of Gianforte’s. “If that kid had done to me what he did to Greg, I would have shot him,” Marshall said about Jacobs.
A spokesman for Rep. Gianforte, Travis Hall, denounced Marshall’s comments. Heenan’s campaign released a statement on Oct. 20. “The fact members of [Gianforte’s] party are sort of doubling down and wishing worse harm on Ben Jacobs really bothers me,” Heenan said.
On Oct. 23, Karen Marshall resigned from her position, according to the Gallatin County Republican Women’s Facebook page.
The mission statement of the Gallatin County Republican Women’s website notes that it “stands by the principles of freedom, equality, and justice on which the government of this country is founded.” The Gallatin County Republican Women did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Greg Gianforte, the Republican nominee in a special congressional race in Montana, physically assaulted Guardian U.S. reporter Ben Jacobs on May 24, 2017, while Jacobs tried to interview him at his campaign headquarters in Bozeman, MT.
A crew of Fox News journalists who witnessed the attack described it as brutal and unprovoked:
At that point, Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him. Faith, Keith and I watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the reporter. As Gianforte moved on top of Jacobs, he began yelling something to the effect of, "I'm sick and tired of this!"
Jacobs scrambled to his knees and said something about his glasses being broken. He asked Faith, Keith and myself for our names. In shock, we did not answer. Jacobs then said he wanted the police called and went to leave. Gianforte looked at the three of us and repeatedly apologized. At that point, I told him and Scanlon, who was now present, that we needed a moment. The men then left.
To be clear, at no point did any of us who witnessed this assault see Jacobs show any form of physical aggression toward Gianforte, who left the area after giving statements to local sheriff's deputies.
Fox News
Following the attack, which left Jacobs’ glasses broken, police arrived to interview witnesses and an ambulance took Jacobs to the hospital, where he got an X-ray on his elbow. A few hours later, Gallatin county sheriff Brian Gootkin announced that Gianforte had been cited for misdemeanor assault.
“The nature of the injuries did not meet the statutory elements of felony assault,” Gootkin said in a statement.
Responding to reports that he had donated $250 to Gianforte’s campaign in March, Gootkin confirmed that he had made the donation but said that “this contribution has nothing to do with our investigation which is now complete.”
Gianforte's campaign initially released a statement claiming that Jacobs was to blame for the incident.
After winning the election on May 25, Gianforte publicly apologized to Jacobs during his victory speech.
On June 7, as part of a settlement with Jacobs, Gianforte pledged to donate $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists — which used the money to help fund the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker — and wrote a lengthy apology to Jacobs:
I write to express my sincere apology for my conduct on the evening of May 24. My physical response to your legitimate question was unprofessional, unacceptable, and unlawful. As both a candidate for office and a public official, I should be held to a high standard in my interactions with the press and the public. My treatment of you did not meet that standard.
Notwithstanding anyone's statements to the contrary, you did not initiate any physical contact with me, and I had no right to assault you. I am sorry for what I did and the unwanted notoriety this has created for you. I take full responsibility.
I understand the critical role that journalists and the media play in our society. Protections afforded to the press through the Constitution are fundamental to who we are as a nation and the way government is accountable to the people I acknowledge that the media have am obligation to seek information. I also know that civility in our public discourse is central to a productive dialogue on issues. I had no right to respond the way I did to your legitimate question about healthcare policy. You were doing your job.
Greg Gianforte's letter of apology to Ben Jacobs
On June 12, Gianforte pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault. He was sentenced to community service and anger management classes, but did not face any jail time.
Gianforte was sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives on June 21 and has already filed for re-election in 2018.
Montana Republican congressman-elect Greg Gianforte appears in court to face a charge of misdemeanor assault after he was accused of attacking a reporter on the eve of his election, in Bozeman, Montana, U.S., June 12, 2017.
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