The Republican candidate for a U.S. congressional seat in (the western U.S. state of) Montana who was charged with assault after he allegedly grabbed a reporter by the neck and threw him to the ground, has apologized for his actions after defeating his Democratic opponent.
"Last night I made a mistake. I took an action that I can't take back and I'm not proud of what happened," said Greg Gianforte, a multimillionaire. "I should not have responded in the way that I did and for that I'm sorry."
Less than 24 hours after the incident, Gianforte narrowly beat out singer and poet Rob Quist Thursday, upholding the Republican Party's 20-year lock on the state's only seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
On Wednesday, journalist Ben Jacobs of the British-based newspaper The Guardian tweeted that Gianforte "just body-slammed me and broke my glasses" at the candidate's campaign headquarters in the city of Bozeman, just hours before the special election that Gianforte had been favored to win in the rural, heavily Republican state.
About a third of Montana's voters had already cast their votes in the early voting process when the incident occurred.
The special election was being held to replace Republican Ryan Zinke, who resigned earlier this year to become President Donald Trump's interior secretary.
The House Republican leader, Speaker Paul Ryan, said Gianforte "should apologize.
If convicted, Gianforte would face a maximum $500 fine and six months in jail.
被指袭击一名记者的美国蒙塔那州共和党籍联邦众议员候选人在击败民主党对手后为其行为表示道歉。他被控犯有轻罪攻击。据称，这名共和党候选人当时抓住一名记者脖子并将其重摔在地。
富豪格雷格·詹佛特尔说：“昨晚我犯了一个错误，我做了一个我无法收回的举动，我对发生的一切无法感到骄傲。我不应该那么做，我对此感到抱歉。”
事件发生后不到24小时后，富豪詹佛特尔星期四险胜歌手和诗人罗布·基斯特。他的胜选使共和党得以继续把持20年来蒙塔那州在美国国会众议院的唯一席位。
星期三，卫报记者本·雅各布斯在推特上发文，称詹佛特尔投票前几小时在他的竞选总部打了他，还弄坏了他的眼镜。蒙塔那是一个以农业为主的共和党传统州，詹佛特尔在这次特别选举中被看好。
事件发生时，蒙塔那州大约三分之一的选民已经在提前投票过程中投下了选票。
该州原众议员津克被美国总统川普任命为内政部长。这次特别选举就是为填补他的席位。
众议院共和党领袖、议长保罗·瑞安表示，詹佛尔特应该道歉。
如果罪名成立，詹佛尔特将面临最高500美元罚款和六个月监禁。