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Greg Gianforte Body Slams Reporter

Greg Gianforte Body Slams Reporter

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Updated May 26, 2017 at 01:34PM EDT by Adam.

Added May 25, 2017 at 11:05AM EDT by Adam.

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Overview

Greg Gianforte Bodyslams Reporter refers to the controversy surrounding an event in which Republican House of Representatives candidate Greg Gianforte of Montana allegedly assaulted Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs on the eve of the special election for Montana's lone House seat held between him and Democrat Rob Quist.

Background

On May 24th, 2017, Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs tweeted "Greg Gianforte just body slammed me and broke my glasses."[1] Two hours later, The Guardian[2] posted an article about the event, including Jacobs' audio of the incident. The event was also corroborated by other reporters on the scene, including several at Fox News,[3] who posted an article about their account. According to several accounts, Jacobs was attempting to question Gianforte about the American Health Care Act. After Gianforte initially directed Jacobs to a spokesman, Jacobs persisted, at which point Gianforte assaulted him while screaming "I'm sick and tired of this!" According to accounts of the event, Gianforte body slammed Jacobs and landed a couple punches. Jacobs' audio of the event is shown below.



Developments

Gianforte was charged with misdemeanor assault and faces a $500 fine or 6 months in prison or both.[4] Before audio of the incident was released, Gianforte's campaign released a statement which contradicted eyewitness accounts of the event. Gianforte's spokesman, Shane Scanlon, said, “After asking Jacobs to lower the recorder, Jacobs declined. 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.”


RELEASE: Gianforte Campaign Statement BOZEMAN, Mont.- "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. 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" -Shane Scanion, spokesperson for Greg for Montana.

However, Gianforte is not heard on the recording asking Jacobs to lower the recorder. Gianforte's opponent, Rob Quist, declined to comment, saying it was more a matter for law enforcement. Gianforte won the following day's election.

Online Reaction

Twitter users reacted with a mix of shock and humor at the news. Many users in politics and journalism reacted with concern over whether or not the fact a politician assaulted a reporter would hurt his chances in an election.[5]


Jeet Heer @HeerJeet Following Usually when people say "the press is under assault" they are speaking metaphorically. Michael Calderone @mlcalderone Follow In the past two weeks, reporters have been arrested, pinned against a wall, and now body slammed -- all for trying to ask a question Danny Zuker @DannyZuker Follow ! It's a sad fact that in this climate I have no idea if assaulting a reporter hurts Gianforte or helps him NPC President @NPCPresident Follow ! What @gianforte did to @guardian is an egregious assault on 1st Amendment and civility w/proof @PressClubDC

Wrestling Jokes

Many on Twitter made jokes about the incident. While some tied their jokes to current events,[7] one of the most prominent kinds of jokes compared the incident to something that would happen in Professional Wrestling. Uproxx[6] covered the prevalence of these jokes.


When they put the recorder in your face LIVE We're all getting worked, this is clearly what the Montana story is leading towards. BEN JACOBS: Now, about the budget GREG GIANFORTE: GIF When the candidate thinks this is my first trip to the top rope IWGPジュニアヘビー級選手権 飯伏幸太vsリコシェ GIF When you're about to interview the candidate K(OR When a reporter asks me about the CBO score GIF

Search Interest

External References

[1] Twitter – @BenCJacobs

[2] The Guardian – Republican candidate charged with assault after 'body-slamming' Guardian reporter

[3] Fox News – Greg Gianforte: Fox News team witnesses GOP House candidate 'body slam' reporter

[4] The New York Times – Greg Gianforte, Montana G.O.P. Candidate, Is Charged in Attack on Reporter

[5] CNN – 'An egregious assault': Twitter erupts over GOP candidate's alleged attack on reporter

[6] Uproxx – There Were Endless Wrestling Jokes After A Congressional Candidate Allegedly Body Slammed A Reporter

[7] Huffington Post – ‘Body-Slam’ Candidate Greg Gianforte Gets Slammed Himself In Scorching New Memes

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Top Comments

Monster Kid
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Monster Kid

in reply to AliC202

…Okay I understand where you're coming from, but you realize you're comparing a Nazi getting punched by someone anonymously vs an elected official body-slamming a reporter doing his job. I agree that at least it's not the best course of action for the former enough, but NO elected official should be able to get away with doing what he did. I understand what you mean, i just think you're really trying to use no exceptions to point out hypocrisy, and some probably are being genuinely hypocritical, but when you compare two issues that are ALIKE but not EQUIVALENT it just makes your argument seem really, REALLY weird.

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