Reporter Ben Jacobs on his alleged assault by Republican nominee in Montana

Today, voters in Montana went to the polls to choose a replacement for the state’s solitary House seat,
which has been empty since Ryan Zinke was confirmed as Secretary of the Interior.
What was already a quirky campaign,
pitting folk-singing Democrat Rob Quist…
— We can never be truly free...
— ...against Republican Greg Gianforte, took a turn for the sinister yesterday...
...when this happened:
— I’m sick and tired of you guys!
The last time you came in here, you did the same thing!
Get the hell outta here!
— Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs confronted Gianforte about the GOP health care bill,
and Gianforte attacked him— with a now infamous body-slam.
Evan McMorris-Santoro spoke to Jacobs via Skype from Montana.
— Now, viewers should know that we actually know each other,
and we kind-of like each other.
It’s probably good to get that out all the way at the beginning.
Gianforte’s campaign said you entered this private office,
where he was conducting the interview.
You were basically, you know, acting like a jerk essentially—
they say aggressive.
And you wouldn’t stop when they asked you to.
Is that fair?
— No, that's incorrect.
I mean, their entire statement was riddled with falsehoods—
that it wasn't a private office, it was an open space.
That there wasn't, you know,
a door that I pushed through, or crawled through a window,
and that it was just joining in and asking a question at an event
for a candidate for office, of the candidate for office.
This was a public event.
This was something they advised that I was attending.
— And Gianforte’s campaign has dismissed you as a liberal journalist.
Now, Republicans run against the press, basically, all the time these days—
but now, one is specifically running against you.
What does that mean to you?
— It's not about me, this is about freedom of the press,
this is about the First Amendment.
This is about reporters being able to ask
basic policy questions of candidates on important issues of the day,
and be able to expect to, you know,
expect to not get violently assaulted in the course of doing that.
— Do you think that what we saw from Gianforte,
his behavior, was in part anything that we can attribute to the way politics are now—
maybe, in part, to the way that Trump ran his campaign?
— You know, I’ve never faced physical assault interviewing Donald Trump,
covering the Trump campaign, dealing with Trump campaign persons.
There’s certainly been some issues around the campaign,
but everyone’s responsible for their own actions.
— We asked Gianforte for an interview,
but we got no response.
The timing of this thing is really wild.
Hours before the poll opened,
Gianforte’s altercation with Ben Jacobs changed the entire conversation about this election.
Newspapers that had endorsed Gianforte canceled their endorsements.
Democrats launched a digital ad specifically about the altercation,
and reminded voters that polls closed at 8pm.
A lot of people really want this moment to change this election.
But people in Montana like to vote by mail—
it’s a pretty big state and a significant number of votes have already been cast in this election.
There are 699,498 registered voters in Montana.
And by yesterday afternoon, before “body-slam gate,”
more than 259,000 of them had already sent in their ballot.
So more than a third of potential voters
had already made up their minds, and they can’t change them.
We even called the Montana Secretary of State
to see if people were trying to change their votes.
They told us the only ones calling were reporters asking that dumb question.
Before all this happened,
the dynamics of this election favored a win by Gianforte.
Democrats will tell you that the fact we’re talking about Montana at all is a win for them.
It’s another special election that’s close because voters are energized against Trump, they say.
But close and winning are not the same thing.
So, assuming Gianforte wins,
does he get to be a respectable member of the Republican Caucus in Congress?
Paul Ryan weighed in today:
— The choice will be made by the people of Montana.
I do not think this is acceptable behavior,
but the choice will be made by the people of Montana.
— And it’s not like members of Congress
haven’t been aggressive before...
...while in Congress.
— Who are you?!
— So…
...Gianforte could fit right in.

Reporter Ben Jacobs on his alleged assault by Republican nominee in Montana

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