A Montana congressman who “body slammed” a reporter has been fined and sentenced to community service and anger management counselling.<\/p>\n
Greg Gianforte, 56, pleaded guilty to assaulting a journalist from the UK’s Guardian newspaper on the eve of his election last month.<\/p>\n
A judge initially sentenced the Republican to four days in jail before reducing the penalty.<\/p>\n
Gianforte is expected to be sworn in to office later this month.<\/p>\n
Gallatin County Justice Court Judge Rick West gave Gianforte a 180-day deferred jail sentence.<\/p>\n
He was ordered to pay $385 (\u00a3304), complete 40 hours of community service and 20 hours of anger management counselling.<\/p>\n
Ben Jacobs, the reporter who was attacked after asking the candidate whether he supported the Republican healthcare plan, agreed not to sue Gianforte if he wrote a letter of apology and donated $50,000 (\u00a339,500) to the Committee to Protect Journalists.<\/p>\n
Following Gianforte’s sentence, Mr Jacobs released a statement saying<\/a> “while I have no doubt that actions like these were an aberration for Congressman-elect Gianforte personally, I worry that, in the context of our political debate, they have become increasingly common”.<\/p>\n “This needs to stop,” he added.<\/p>\n He said he hoped the “court’s decision can send a strong message about the necessity of civil discourse in our country, the important role of the free press and the need to help heal our political system”.<\/p>\n Alicia Acuna, a reporter from Fox News who witnessed the attack, said Gianforte “grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground”, before he began “punching” the reporter.<\/p>\n The politician initially claimed Mr Jacobs had grabbed his wrist, pulling them both to the ground. His spokesperson called it “aggressive behaviour from a liberal journalist”.<\/p>\n But in his formal apology,<\/a> Gianforte acknowledged his actions and took full responsibility.<\/p>\n Gianforte won the special congressional election<\/a> in Montana, just hours after he was charged with assault.<\/p>\n The multimillionaire technology executive and Christian conservative beat Democrat Rob Quist, a banjo-playing folk singer, to fill an empty seat in the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n In a victory speech Gianforte said he had “learned a lesson” and was “sorry”.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump praised the victory during an official trip to Italy, calling it a “great win in Montana”.<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"