Hi there,

This month, Democracy Now! marks 29 years of fearless independent journalism. Presidents have come, gone and come back again, but Democracy Now! remains, playing the same critical role in our democracy: shining a spotlight on corporate and government abuses of power and raising up the voices of scholars, advocates, scientists, activists, artists and ordinary people working for a more peaceful and just world. If our journalism is important to you, please donate today in honor of our 29th anniversary. Every dollar makes a difference. Thank you so much.

Democracy Now!

Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

Montana Congressional Candidate Greg Gianforte Body-Slammed Reporter

HeadlineMay 25, 2017

Back in the United States, in Montana, Republican congressional candidate Greg Gianforte has been charged with assault after he body-slammed a Guardian reporter to the floor Wednesday night, only hours before polls open for the special election today. Gianforte, a tech millionaire who is backed by Trump, attacked Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs as Jacobs was trying to ask about the Republican healthcare plan. This is audio Jacobs captured of the incident.

Greg Gianforte: “We’ll talk to you about that later.”

Ben Jacobs: “Yeah, but there’s not going to be time. I was just curious if you have the act right now.”

Greg Gianforte: “OK, speak with Shane, please. Just—I’m sick and tired of you guys! The last guy that came in here, you did the same thing! Get the hell out of here!”

Ben Jacobs: “Jesus!”

Greg Gianforte: “Get the hell out of here! The last guy did the same thing. You with The Guardian?”

Ben Jacobs: “Yes! And you just broke my glasses.”

Greg Gianforte: “You—the last guy did the same damn thing.”

Ben Jacobs: “You just body-slammed me and broke my glasses.”

Greg Gianforte: “Get the hell out of here!”

Ben Jacobs: “You’d like me to get out of here. I’d also like to call the police.”

That was reporter Ben Jacobs being attacked by Montana congressional candidate Greg Gianforte Wednesday night. Voters are now heading to the polls to decide between Gianforte and Democratic candidate Rob Quist to fill Montana’s at-large House seat, which was vacated by now-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. The $10 million closely watched race is seen as a referendum on the Trump administration. More than 70 percent of voters in Montana have already cast their ballots in the election.

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top