As we've seen, being a multimillionaire can lead to certain, shall we say, impulse control problems.
Greg Gianforte, Montana congressional candidates and all-around Republican jerk who donated to white supremacists, was charged with misdemeanor assault after attacking a reporter last night.
Sheriff Brian Gootkin released this statement:
“Following multiple interviews and an investigation by the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office it was determined there was probable cause to issue a citation. Greg Gianforte received a citation on Wednesday night and is scheduled to appear in Gallatin County Justice Court between now and June 7, 2017.”
Gianforte can be fined and sentenced to jail time if convicted.
Remember, this wasn't someone punching someone in the nose in a drunken brawl. This was a stone cold sober candidate choking a reporter after knocking him to the ground.
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Today, according to the Washington Post, three of the state's largest newspapers have withdrawn their endorsements.
The Billings Gazette, which serves Montana’s largest city, told readers it had made a “poor choice” by ignoring “questionable interactions” the candidate has had with reporters in the past.
“We previously supported Gianforte because he said he was ready to listen, to compromise, to take the tough questions,” wrote the newspaper’s editors. “Everything he said was obliterated by his surprising actions that were recorded and witnessed Wednesday. We simply cannot trust him. Because trust — not agreement — is essential in the role of representative, we cannot stand by him.”
The Helena Record, which serves the state’s capital city, wrote that the concepts of democracy and press freedom were “under attack” from Gianforte.
“In the past, he has encouraged his supporters to boycott certain newspapers, singled out a reporter in a room to point out that he was outnumbered, and even made a joke out of the notion of choking a news writer,” editors wrote. ‘These are not things we can continue to brush off.”
The Missoulan, which had taken heat from readers for backing Gianforte, pulled its support while suggesting that the candidate, who narrowly lost a race for governor last year, should bow out of public life.
“Gianforte committed an act of terrible judgment that, if it doesn’t land him in jail, also shouldn’t land him in the U.S. House of Representatives,” editors wrote. “He showed Wednesday night that he lacks the experience, brains and abilities to effectively represent Montana in any elected office.”
Imagine that. This good old Republican boy's been an asshole all along, but the local media downplayed it and endorsed him anyway.
