Greg Gianforte, the Montana Republican who assaulted a newspaper reporter the day before being elected to Congress, pleaded guilty Monday to a misdemeanor assault charge but avoided jail time. Those penalties were in lieu of a 180-day jail sentence, which was deferred. During the hearing, reporter Ben Jacobs of the Guardian, a British newspaper with an international web readership, recounted his violent encounter with Gianforte and the subsequent national ramifications. — Greg Gianforte, congressman-elect from Montana“While I have no doubt that actions like these were an aberration for Congressman-elect Gianforte personally,” Jacobs said in his trial statement, “I worry that, in context of our political debate, they have become increasingly common. “The people of Montana need a representative in Congress,” Nancy Keenan, executive director of the Montana Democratic Party, said in a statement.

Source: Los Angeles Times June 12, 2017 17:13 UTC