The top Republican in the US Congress demanded an apology Thursday from the party’s candidate in a high-stakes election in Montana, who stands accused of assaulting a reporter on the eve of the vote.
Greg Gianforte, a wealthy businessman who until recent weeks had been expected to comfortably win Thursday’s contest, faces up to six months in county jail and a $500 fine if convicted of misdemeanor assault against a journalist from British newspaper The Guardian.
The Wednesday clash, caught on an audio recording, has mushroomed into a major headache for Donald Trump’s party on the day Montanans vote to replace a Republican who resigned to join the president’s cabinet.
“I think he should apologize,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said when asked about Gianforte’s confrontation with reporter Ben Jacobs, who says he was “body slammed,” or violently thrown to the ground.
“That is wrong and should not have happened,” he added.
But Ryan declined to say whether Gianforte would be welcome in Congress should he win the special election.
“I’m going to let the people of Montana decide who they want as their representative. That’s not our choice.”
Local police were called to the scene, at a Gianforte campaign event in the city of Bozeman, and Jacobs was taken to the hospital for X-rays.
The altercation took place after Jacobs asked a question about the Republican health care bill intended to replace Barack Obama’s signature health reforms.
“Greg Gianforte just body slammed me and broke my glasses,” Jacobs tweeted before news of the incident went viral on social media.
The reporter posted an audio clip in which a loud crash is heard, and Gianforte then appears to say: “The last time you came in here you did the same thing. Get the hell out of here!”
Gianforte’s campaign issued a statement offering a starkly contrasting account, saying the incident took place when the candidate was giving a separate interview in a private office.
Jacobs entered the office uninvited, and “aggressively shoved a recorder in Greg’s face, and began asking badgering questions,” the statement said.
“It’s unfortunate that this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ.”
Other witnesses corroborated Jacobs’s version of events — including a crew from Fox News, the most viewed US cable news channel and a favorite of conservatives.
In a first-hand account published on the network’s website, a Fox reporter said that at one point “Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him onto the ground behind him.”
“To be clear, at no point did any of us who witnessed this assault see Jacobs show any form of physical aggression toward Gianforte,” Fox’s Alicia Acuna wrote.
The race between Gianforte and Democrat Rob Quist, a folk singer and political newbie, had been focusing on Montanans’ concerns about US health care policy, and was also seen as a referendum on the first four months of Trump’s presidency.
The assault allegations cast the race into uncharted waters, said Jeremy Johnson, an associate professor of political science at Carroll College in the state capital Helena.
Both the audio clip, and Fox News description of events, could help Quist among undecided voters, Johnson said.
“On the other hand this may rally some supporters of Gianforte who are negative about the influence of the media,” he said.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.