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Republican congressional candidate Greg Gianforte talks with supporters during a campaign meet and greet at Lambros Real Estate on May 24, 2017 in Missoula, Montana.
A reporter said he was physically assaulted by Republican Congressional candidate Greg Gianforte on Wednesday, a day before Montana residents could vote him into office."Greg Gianforte just body slammed me and broke my glasses," tweeted Ben Jacobs, a reporter with The Guardian, who was covering a Gianforte campaign event.
In an audio recording of the incident, captured by the reporter, Jacobs can be heard pressing Gianforte to comment on a Congressional Budget Office evaluation of the American Health Care Act released earlier Wednesday.
Then, a loud crash.
"I'm sick and tired of you guys," Gianforte can be heard shouting. "The last time you came in here you did the same thing. Get the hell out of here."
"You just body-slammed me and broke my glasses," Jacobs says.
"Get the hell out of here," Gianforte says again.
Photos posted to social media showed police vehicles and an ambulance on the scene. Jacobs reportedly filed a report with Bozeman police.
Buzzfeed's Alexis Levinson, who was at the campaign event, said she heard a "giant crash" from behind partially closed doors and "saw Ben's feet fly in the air as he hit the floor."
Gianforte left the event early in a silver Jeep.
In a statement, Gianforte campaign spokesman Shane Scanlon suggested Jacobs was to blame:
"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."
Gianforte, an engineer and businessman, is running against Democrat Rob Quist in a special election on Thursday for Montana's at-large Congressional district. The district was formerly held by Ryan Zinke, whom President Donald Trump tapped to lead the US Department of the Interior.
Quist declined to comment on the incident when pressed by an MSNBC reporter Wednesday evening.
"That's really not for me to talk about. I think that's more a matter for law enforcement," he said.
Polls suggest an unexpectedly tight race in the reliably conservative Montana. In 2016, Trump carried the state by 21 points.
This story is developing …
All of a sudden I heard a giant crash and saw Ben's feet fly in the air as he hit the floor
- Alexis Levinson (@alexis_levinson) May 24, 2017