The Republican party official who advocated shooting a Guardian reporter has resigned from her position.
Karen Marshall, who headed outreach for the Gallatin County Republican Women, stepped down from that post, according to a Facebook posting. In a radio interview last week, Marshall said she “would have shot” the Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs, who was physically assaulted for asking Greg Gianforte about healthcare in May, as Gianforte ran for US Congress.
Jacobs asked Gianforte a question about the Congressional Budget Office’s score of a proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act the day before the Montana Republican was elected to Congress. Instead of answering the question, Gianforte slammed Jacobs to the ground, breaking his glasses, and then jumped on the Guardian reporter and started punching him.
The assault occurred in a room adjacent to a campaign event that was open to the public.
Gianforte pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault, apologized to Jacobs and donated $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
“If that kid had done to me what he did to Greg, I would have shot him,” Karen Marshall, vice-president of programs for Gallatin County Republican Women, told the Voice of Montana radio program on Thursday.
Marshall described herself as a “friend” of Gianforte. According to federal records, a Karen Marshall from Bozeman, Montana, donated the federal maximum of $2,700 to Gianforte’s campaign for Congress.
Gianforte first falsely accused Jacobs of assaulting him, then apologized and took responsibility for the attack. Although he has recanted, Gianforte has yet to explain his false statement.
As a result of his assault, the Montana Republican was sentenced to community service, a $385 fine and 20 hours of anger management therapy. He also pledged to sit down with Jacobs for an on-the-record interview. which has not happened.
A spokesman for Gianforte has criticized Marshall’s remarks but the Montana Republican has not personally addressed the statement by Marshall, who was at the same event where Jacobs was physically assaulted.
