US congressman Greg Gianforte misled police after his assault of Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs in May, falsely stating that Jacobs had initiated physical contact and that the “liberal media … is trying to make a story”, according to the police incident report. According to Secor’s account of the interview, Gianforte complained that Jacobs had “stuck a microphone in my face” and was asking “obnoxious questions”. Later in the interview, Gianforte described Jacobs’ behavior as “interrogating in a very intensive way”. The video included two occasions when Gianforte refused to answer questions from a different Guardian reporter, Paul Lewis. The report states that Elle witnessed Jacobs and Gianforte on the ground, and it “appeared as though Gianforte was striking the reporter with closed fists”.

Source: The Guardian November 17, 2017 23:03 UTC