On the eve of Montana’s special election, the Republican candidate, tech millionaire Greg Gianforte, assaults a journalist on tape, throwing him to the ground and punching him in the face

Sadly, I suspect it could help him with some percentage of the Republican base, but, earlier this evening, Greg Gianforte, the tech millionaire running for Montana’s single House seat, literally attacked a reporter from the Guardian, throwing him to the ground and breaking his glasses in the process. Reports are sketchy, but it sounds as though Gianforte may have taken off before being questioned by police at the scene… Here’s the incredibly unsettling audio.

Yup, all the reporter asked was whether or not Gianforte would be supporting the President’s health care bill, which, according to a report released by the Congressional Budget Office today, would rob 23 million Americans of their health insurance coverage over the next decade. Apparently that question did’t sit so well with Gianforte, whose lead has been steadily shrinking over the past several weeks, in part because he refuses to state publicly where he stands on health care reform. [Behind closed doors, for what it’s worth, he’s praised the Trump plan.]

The following coverage of the assault comes from the Guardian.

…“He took me to the ground,” Jacobs said by phone from the back of an ambulance. “This is the strangest thing that has ever happened to me in reporting on politics.”

Jacobs subsequently reported the incident to the police. The Gallatin County sheriff’s office is investigating the incident.

A statement by campaign spokesman Shane Scanlon blamed Jacobs for the incident, saying that he “entered the office without permission, aggressively shoved a recorder in Greg’s face, and began asking badgering questions”.

“Jacobs was asked to leave,” the statement reads. “After asking Jacobs to lower the recorder, Jacobs declined. 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.”

“It’s unfortunate that this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ.”…

That version of events, of course, doesn’t jive at all with the audio, or the firsthand accounts of the Fox News crew that witnessed the attack, saying that Gianforte not only bodyslammed the reporter, but actually punched him in the face. But who cares about facts, right?

I don’t know that it’ll do much good right now, seeing as how it’s the election is tomorrow, but, if you’d like to join me, I’ll be making one final donation to folksinger Rob Quist, Gianforte’s Democratic opponent, right now.

Here’s hoping the good people of Montana see this incident for what it is and do the right thing tomorrow… If you have friends or family in Montana, now might be a good time to call them.

Oh, and for what it’s worth, it was just a matter of time before something like this happened under the rule of Trump, a man who, much like Hitler, ascended to power by demonizing the “lying press”, even going so far as to excuse Putin’s murder of journalists.