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Greg Gianforte Pledges $50K To Press Group After Reporter Incident

Gianforte apologized to the reporter he's accused of body slamming. And he's making a donation to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

By: Briana Koeneman

Posted at 8:15 AM, Jun 13, 2017

and last updated 2017-06-13 08:15:37-04

Montana congressman-elect Greg Gianforte has formally apologized to the reporter he's accused of body slamming.

And he's going to put his money where his mouth is.

Gianforte wrote in a letter to Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs that his "physical response" to Jacobs' questions at a campaign event last month was "unprofessional, unacceptable, and unlawful."

As part of that apology, Gianforte promised to donate $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a nonprofit that promotes press freedom and protects the rights of journalists.

Gianforte's camp originally blamed Jacobs' "aggressive behavior" for the incident. But several witnesses and audio later posted by The Guardian said otherwise.

The very next day, Gianforte won Montana's special election. He apologized to Jacobs during his acceptance speech.

Gianforte was sentenced to community service and 20 hours of anger management courses after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge. As for Jacobs, he says he has accepted Gianforte's apology.