Newly elected Montana rep raises a ton of dough AFTER he choke-slammed a reporter

Thomas Phippen, DCNF

Montana Rep. Greg Gianforte pulled in $116,000 in campaign donations on the day of his election, hours after he assaulted a Guardian reporter during an interview the night before.

FILE - In this June 26, 2016 file photo, then-candidate for governor Republican Greg Gianforte speaks to a member of the audience after debating Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, in Big Sky, Mont. Gianforte, who is a Technology entrepreneur, says he has commitments from enough delegates to secure the Republican nomination for Montana's special election for the U.S. House. (AP Photo/Bobby Caina Calvan, file) — (AP Photo/Bobby Caina Calvan, file)

Many expected Gianforte, who was running to fill Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s vacant house seat in a May 25 special election, to lose after he grabbed Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs by the neck and threw him to the ground.

Instead, Gianforte won the election by a six percent margin and raised more than $100,000 on election day, according to campaign disclosures first reported by The Guardian.

The election day donations totaled more than the previous five days of fundraising combined, a rare feat in political fundraising since a campaign can’t do much with donations on the day of the election.

Gianforte has since apologized to Jacobs, and offered to donate $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists to settle any civil claims. Gianforte also pled guilty to assault charges, and was sentenced to community service, fined $385 and ordered to take anger management classes.

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