A reporter says a Republican candidate “body slammed” him after asking about the GOP health care bill

Greg Gianforte, a Republican running for the open House seat in Montana, reportedly “body slammed” a journalist the day before the state’s special election, according to eyewitness accounts and audio posted by the reporter.

Ben Jacobs, a political reporter for the Guardian, a British newspaper, tweeted Wednesday evening about the incident.

The Guardian later posted audio of the incident, in which Jacobs appears to calmly ask Gianforte about the new Congressional Budget Office score of the House health care legislation. The incident quickly escalates from there, judging by the audio, which lasts for 45 seconds.

Gianforte responded in his own statement, portraying Jacobs as the aggressor who intruded on a private interview without permission.

Another reporter on the scene corroborated some of Jacobs’s account.

Later on Wednesday night, reporters from Fox News — who were about to interview Gianforte when the altercation occurred — provided another first-person account that seemed to contradict the candidate’s version of events (emphasis mine):

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 man, as he moved on top the reporter and 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. He 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.

The Montana special election, in which Gianforte is facing Democratic folk singer Rob Quist, is Thursday. Gianforte is running to replace Republican Ryan Zinke, who was appointed to be President Trump’s interior secretary. Gianforte has been considered a slight favorite; Cook Political Report rates the race Lean Republican.

A few political analysts on Twitter noted that many ballots have already been cast, because Montanans can vote by mail.

Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?

Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple reasons that we can't rely only on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on.

First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.

Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. We can’t do that if we have a paywall.

That’s why we also turn to you, our readers, to help us keep Vox free. If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today?

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via