The Breitbart reporter who was allegedly grabbed by Donald Trump's campaign manager has resigned, claiming she is not supported by her employer.
Michelle Fields has quit the conservative website after she was reportedly grabbed by campaign manager Corey Lewandowski while she attempted to question Mr Trump last week in Florida.
Breitbart first posted Ms Fields' account of the incident, then later posted another story which doubted the event. It said the “likeliest explanation” is that Ms Fields was grabbed by a security officer and not Mr Lewandowski.
No charges have been filed and Mr Lewandowski has denied the allegation, posting a series of tweets and articles that refute Ms Fields’ claims, including an additional article from Breitbart which supports the campaign manager.
Ms Fields has been joined in her resignation by her editor Ben Shapiro.
Mr Shapiro blamed Breitbart’s chief executive Stephen Bannon for being a “bully” and shaping the website into “Trump’s personal Pravda”.
He told Buzzfeed: “In the ultimate indignity, they undermined Michelle completely by running a poorly-evidenced conspiracy theory as their lead story.”
Mr Trump told CNN that the alleged incident at his rally was probably “made up”.
Mr Bannon did not return a comment for the Associated Press.
Breitbart's chief public relations representative, Kurt Bardella, dropped the company as a client on Friday.
Another CBS journalist, Sohan Deb, was arrested at a Trump rally as chaos broke out between supporters and protestors, despite identifying himself as a member of the press. He was handcuffed and placed in the back of a van, and his camera was temporarily confiscated.
CBS news president David Rhodes tweeted his support for his employee over the weekend.
