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.