Montana special election

Midway through his victory speech late Thursday night, newly-elected House member Greg Gianforte (R-MT) choked up as he began to address allegations that he assaulted a reporter the day before. “I should not have responded in the way I did, and for that I’m sorry,” he said.

Gianforte was charged with a misdemeanor after he reportedly body-slammed Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs at a campaign barbecue Wednesday night. But fresh off defeating Democrat Rob Quist in Montana’s special election, Gianforte turned somber and hushed the crowd of cheering supporters in front of him:

You might think that the moment Greg Gianforte, the Republican running for Montana’s open House seat, allegedly “body-slammed” a reporter, his campaign was doomed. An alleged assault the day before an election? What could be worse?

But Gianforte could very well still be elected to Congress, even as he faces misdemeanor charges for the alleged assault. If he prevails in Thursday night’s election, he can thank Montana’s affinity for mail-in ballots.

Shortly after he was publicly accused of assaulting a reporter Wednesday night, House candidate Greg Gianforte (R-MT) put out a statement that portrayed himself as the victim of the altercation.

Shane Scanlon, Gianforte’s spokesperson, made a number of specific factual assertions. One was that the Guardian’s Ben Jacobs was had “aggressively shoved” a tape recorder in Gianforte’s face. Another was that Jacobs had asked “badgering questions,” and that Jacobs (a “liberal journalist”) made first contact in the incident by grabbing Gianforte’s wrist. After grabbing Gianforte’s wrist, the statement continued, Jacobs “spun away from Greg, pushing them both to the ground.” This “aggressive behavior,” the statement said, “created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ.”

Republican House candidate Greg Gianforte has been charged with misdemeanor assault after allegedly body slamming a reporter on the eve of Montana’s closely watched special election.

Gianforte was accused of attacking Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs at a local campaign barbecue over questions about the Republicans’ House health care bill, breaking his glasses and forcing him to go to the hospital to have his elbow X-rayed, according to multiple reports.

Republican Greg Gianforte is up for election tomorrow in a special House race in Montana — and he, allegedly, decided to body-slam Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs after a question about the projected effects of the health care bill Republicans passed earlier this month.

And there’s a way to almost make sense of it. Let’s walk through this:

With just one day until the election, Republican candidate Greg Gianforte appears to have assaulted Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs after being asked a question about Republicans’ health care bill. On Wednesday night, Jacobs alleged that Gianforte smashed his glasses and “body slammed” him to the ground. Jacobs quickly posted audio that appeared back up his version of the story.

Local authorities have charged Gianforte with misdemeanor assault.