PHOTOS: Greg Gianforte & Ben Jacobs ‘Body Slam’ Scene

Greg Gianfote. (Getty)

The Montana special election heated up in a big way on the eve before voters choose a new House member when a national political reporter for a British newspaper, Ben Jacobs, claimed he was “body slammed” by GOP candidate, Greg Gianforte.

Photos emerged from the scene.

Jacobs, the reporter for the Guardian, who has written some hard-hitting pieces on GOP candidate Greg Gianforte, launched the allegation on Twitter and reportedly made a complaint to police. Gianforte’s campaign has challenged the claim, alleging that the reporter grabbed Gianforte’s wrist and was overly aggressive after asking a question about healthcare.

Reporters at the scene captured photos of the response by law enforcement and medics. Gianforte, 56, is a businessman, with a net worth estimated in the millions of dollars. He co-founder RightNow Technologies, and unsuccessfully ran for Montana governor.

“Greg Gianforte just body slammed me and broke my glasses,” Jacobs wrote on Twitter. Other reporters were at the scene, and Jacobs wrote that there was a record of what happened. He also tweeted, “There was a local TV crew there when Gianforte body slammed me. Audio is posting soon at @GuardianUS.”

Here’s Gianforte’s side:

Here’s the audio:

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The audio captures what sounds like an altercation, and then a male voice says after Jacobs asks about healthcare, “I’m sick and tired of you guys. The last (unintelligible) that came in here you did the same thing. Get the hell out of here! Get the hell out of here! The last guy did the same thing, you with the Guardian?”

“Yes, and you just broke my glasses,” Jacobs responds.

“The last guy did the same da*n thing.”

“You just body slammed me and broke my glasses,” Jacobs says, saying he’s going to call the police.

“Get the hell out of here.”

Reporters tweeted that Jacobs had gone to the hospital to get an X-ray and that he had made a complaint with police on the incident.

The dramatic claim came the day before the election. The Montana special election is being closely watched around the country because the state went overwhelmingly for President Donald Trump. However, the race was said by many observers to now be closer than expected, with Gianforte, the Republican candidate still favored, but not as overwhelmingly as might be expected in such a Republican state. Country singer Rob Quist is squaring off against Gianforte as the Democratic candidate in the race.

The election is to replace Ryan Zinke, whom President Trump named his Interior Secretary. The key issue in the race appears to be Gianforte’s support for the GOP repeal of Obamacare, and it’s said to be a bellwether for the Republican approach to healthcare as well as for Trump.

According to his bio on The Guardian website, Jacobs is based in Washington D.C. for the British newspaper, and he is a former reporter for the Daily Beast.

The Gianforte campaign statement alleged that Jacobs “entered the office without permission, aggressively shoved a recorder in Greg’s face and began asking badgering questions.”

Jacobs declined a request to lower his recorder, the statement alleges. “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.”

The statement blames “this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist” for creating the scene at a campaign volunteer barbecue.

Read more about Gianforte here:

Greg Gianforte: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Greg Gianforte is the Republican candidate for Montana’s at-large district. Meet the billionaire businessman and his family.

Click here to read & comment now

Jessica McBride is a Heavy contributor. She was a crime, government, and breaking news reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and reporter for the Waukesha Freeman newspaper. Her award-winning work has appeared in numerous magazine, newspaper, and online publications. She has also appeared as a crime reporter on Investigation Discovery Channel, History Channel, and Oxygen Channel. She can be reached by email at jessica.mcbride@heavy.com.
May 24, 2017 9:28 pm