Ben Jacobs, a political reporter for The Guardian, has donated his broken glasses to the Newseum in Washington, D.C., after they were damaged during an alleged altercation with Congressman-elect Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.). (Image Source: Twitter Screenshot)
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Ben Jacobs, a political reporter for The Guardian, has donated his broken glasses to a Washington, D.C., museum after they were damaged during an alleged altercation with a Montana politician.
The glasses were donated by Jacobs at the request of the Newseum and will be on display in the journalism museum’s collection, The Guardian reported Tuesday.
Republican Congressman-elect Greg Gianforte, then a candidate, allegedly assaulted Jacobs last week, when he tried asking Gianforte a question about the Congressional Budget Office’s score for the Republican health care bill.
Rather than answer the question, though, Gianforte resorted to physical violence, according to Jacobs. An audio recording of the altercation surfaced immediately after Jacobs tweeted that he had been body-slammed by Gianforte.
“I’m sick and tired of you guys!” Gianforte can be heard yelling. “The last guy that came in here did the same thing! Get the hell out of here! The last guy did the same thing!”
The Republican’s campaign later released a statement, saying Jacobs entered Gianforte’s office space “without permission” and “aggressively shoved a recorder in Greg’s face, and began asking badgering questions.”
Gianforte’s team then tried to place the blame on The Guardian reporter, writing: “It’s unfortunate that this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ.”
The candidate was charged with misdemeanor assault.
Gianforte was running for Montana’s seat in the House of Representatives in a special election to fill the post vacated by Ryan Zinke. Zinke joined President Donald Trump’s administration as secretary of the Interior.
After winning the election, Gianforte, facing pressure from several Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), issued an apology to Jacobs.
“Last night I made a mistake, and I took an action that I can’t take back and I’m not proud of what happened,” he said at his victory party. “I should not have responded in the way that I did, and for that, I’m sorry.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Ben Jacobs,” he said.
"Last night I made a mistake. ... I'm sorry." Gianforte apologizes for his treatment of Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs https://t.co/T16hOTtTTm pic.twitter.com/j2UP9ugs4D
— CNN (@CNN) May 26, 2017
Jacobs’ new glasses, which were made by Banana Republic, were paid for by The Guardian and his company health insurance. They will be ready next week.
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