Greg Gianforte, Montana Congressman-Elect, Sentenced For Assault On Guardian Reporter

Greg Gianforte, Montana's newly elected congressman, pleaded guilty Monday to assaulting Ben Jacobs, a reporter for The Guardian, on the eve of the special election in the state for Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's seat.

Gianforte was given 40 hours of community service and 20 hours of anger management classes, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports.

“I grabbed his wrist. A scuffle ensued and he was injured, as I understand it,” Gianforte said in pleading guilty to the misdemeanor assault, as reported by the Chronicle. "It was not my intention to hurt him.”

Jacobs spoke from the witness stand, describing the assault and said he had accepted Gianforte's apology.

“I have accepted his apology and fully expect his thoughtful words to be followed by concrete actions once he has taken his seat in Congress,” Jacobs said, as reported by the Chronicle.

On the eve of the election in Montana, Gianforte allegedly body-slammed Jacobs and broke his glasses. Jacobs later posted audio of the incident in which Gianforte can be heard losing his temper after Jacobs asked then-candidate Gianforte about the CBO score released for the Republican health care plan. Jacobs' own account of the assault was backed up by a Fox News crew that was setting up for an interview with Gianforte at the time the alleged assault occurred.

While the Gianforte campaign pushed back on Jacobs' account, trying to put the blame on him, the Fox News reporter present in the room wrote in a news article that at no point did Jacobs show any form of physical aggression toward Gianforte.

Gianforte apologized to Jacobs and pledged to donate $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Jacobs accepted Gianforte's apology.

Supporters of Jacobs also set up a GoFundMe account for the journalist, raising money to buy him new glasses. However, Jacobs said he would take care of getting his own glasses and asked that any donations go to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Jacobs also donated his broken glasses to the Newseum, the museum in Washington, D.C., that is dedicated to the media.

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