alicia acuna a fox news reportedly witnessed this. with the very latest. >> i can tell you just from looking at that election results, 8% of the precincts reporting, greg gianforte is a leading right now by nine points. it's very early in the night. as he mentioned, the polls just closed but it has been an incredibly tense 24 hours for everyone here in this state. especially for greg gianforte. we were standing in the room and preparing for an interview with the g.o.p. candidate when the guardian reporter came in, ben jacobs, he started asking him questions and when gianforte pushed back and said he would later, jacobs persisted and that is when gianforte threw him to the ground and started punching him. that is when jacobs tried to get his composure, said his glasses were broken and that he was calling the police. kimberly, i can tell you -- i was standing there. 2-3 feet from these men when it happened. i was in the room with our photographer. we were shocked. we had never seen anything like that in response to a reporter coming in

we still alicia acuna on the phone. we seal, or reaction?e waiting to hear something about last night. it was very straightforward. hearing from him and mentioning ben jacobs, discussing the fact and reaching out and offering apology. he has been for fox a long time. it was very rattling at the time. they were quite shaken. it was interesting to hear him up there, except the victory, except the results, but also he was somber. to a degree and his behavior. and offering his apology. people here, he heard it, i don't know if you could hear it, but they were telling him as he was saying this that they accepted his apology that he is forgiven and that they do want him to be a representation of who they are in d.c. patti and at the end, you also heard them say that they will not be moving to washington, d.c., that they will be traveling back and fort. >> it was interesting. as you noted, after he apologized specifically to ben jacobs, he also said i am sorry to each one of you. that is not the person i am, and that is not the way i will need to.

for now, i'm alicia acuna in bozeman, montana. fox news. >> both sides are talking about this. lot of people are saying if he should lose then the republicans are going to say well it's because this incident happened. >> yeah. >> and if he won they're saying all right it doesn't matter what he does, he can get away with anything so it's going to be interesting to see how this all plays out. >> i want to point out two things here. first of all greg gianforte ran for governor last year in montana. montana only has one congressional seat. he lost to a democrat last time so he's not won statewide before. i'm want to point something out. in the campaign they put out very quick to call ben jacobs a liberal reporter. take the parties off it, take the ideology off it. you listen to it right there. and if greg gianforte can't handle a reporter putting a tape recorder or a phone in his face, you're not going to like washington, dude. >> right. >> simple as that. so, in the end i mean you'll let the legal system sort it out but have a right to put your hands on anybody else. he wasn't put

you know, it's strange. >> shepard: alicia acuna, a witness to it all. the camera wasn't rolling. we got the gist there. see you soon. some 23 million americans will lose their health insurance in the next decade if the healthcare bill becomes law, which it won't, but that's according to reports from the congressional budget office. this has no chance in the senate. they'll change it what are top republicans saying about this particular version out of the house? >> shep, good afternoon. they're luke warm about the house bill and senate ers are saying they're going to take out a blank sheet of paper and write their own bill. as for the guy behind the bill, paul ryan offered this reaction. >> premiums have doubled in america because of obamacare. people can't afford this. so what cbo just told us, the reforms we put in this bill will help lower premiums so i'm very encouraged by that. >> with providers pulling out of states, the republicans are saying tsay ing the status quo, obamacare is not sustainable. so democrats are saying, you know, the guy that hea

our variant alicia acuna and her witness that. she joins us now with a very latest. you really hurt in altercations and then he said the last guy came in here and did the same thing. what was he referring to? >> from what we understand, greg gianforte was referring to another reporter from the guardian. however, i don't have details on what he was referring to specifically if there were some other disagreement between mr. g and 14 and another reporter from the guardian. from listening to interviews that i heard ben jacobs gives from the guardian, that was the person you hurt there, who had his glasses broken and all of that, he said that he didn't feel that he had a personal issue with mr. g and forte that he uncovered. he had been to some of the campaign offense but really said he was just as surprised as we were. i was standing maybe two or 3 feet from the that just happened. he wanted anything happen after him or they try to talk to you to see what statement he would give or template? >> no one downplayed it. once ben jacobs left, mr. g salman gianforte looked it

. >> kimerly: our very own alicia acuna witnessed the incident that you just heard. she joins us with the latest. you heard an altercation and then he said the last guy came in here did the same thing. what was he referring to? >> from what we understand, greg gianforte was referring to another reporter from "the guardian." i don't have details on what he was referring to specifically, if there were some other sort of disagreement between mr. gianforte and another reporter from "the guardian." from listening to interviews i've heard ben jacobs give from "the guardian" -- that was the person you heard there who had his glasses broken. he said he didn't feel he had a personal issue with mr. gianforte, he had covered him, been to some campaign events. things like that but said he was just as surprised as we were. i was standing two, maybe 3 feet from the two men. >> kimerly: did anything happen after where they try to talk to you to see what statement you would give? where they tried to downplay it or anything? >> no one downplayed it. once ben jacobs laughed, mr. gianf

but alicia acuna, a reporter from the unusually conservative fox news, was an eye witness. >> then gianforte grabbed him by ane neck, both hands, slid him od the side, body slammed him and then got on top of him and started punching and then yelling at him. >> reporter: republican house speaker paul ryan did not endorse the candidate's actions. >> that is wrong and it should not have happened. i think he should apologize. >> reporter: gianforte has disappeared. he was last seen driving away from the incident, and canceled all appearances today. e for voters, elizabeth green said a congressional candidate should act the way she teaches her son sam. >> like i tell my son, it is important to keep your hands to yourself. and to use your words. and if candidate for congress can't do that, then definitely doesn't deserve to have that position. >> reporter: doug steiner voted for gianforte. the incident did not change his mind. >> no. >> reporter: why not? >> because i have heard too many versions of it and i'm not sure what happened. no offense, sir, but i don't trust the media much. >> reporter:

alicia acuna is a life us in tulsa. >> yes, the mayor of tulsa today said the greatest issue facing thisis racial disparity, and while the police department here is accessing signs of a leaf that one of their own was acquitted, the police chief acknowledged there is a lot of work in front of them. >> we know we have had feelings. we understand that. we are committed absolutely to making a better relationship where we can ensure trust and cooperation for our community. >> offers their betty shelby found not guilty in the shooting that happened in september. she was responding to a domestic violence call when she came upon terence crutcher's suv stopped in the blocking traffic. shelby said she shot him out of fear when he refused demands to get on the ground, and she says reached into his suv for what she thought was a gun. prosecution says she overreacted. he did not have a gun in his suv, but the drug pcp was found in his system. four of the 12 jurors had tears in their eyes when that verdict was read. >> i don't know what was in the mind of that jury, how they could come to that conclus

alicia acuna and her crew saw it happen. it happened at the gop headquarters for gianforte. he was preparing for article interview office when a reporter from the guardian barges in and asks questions about the gop healthcare bill. you can hear what happened next in this you had a dough auy the guardian. >> the bill just came out. >> we'll talk to you about that later. >> i'm curious. i'm sick and tired of you guys. the last time you game in here you did the same thing. get the hell out of here. get the hell out of here. last guy did the same thing. are you with the guardian. >> y and you just broke my glasses. >> last guy did the same damn thing. >> you just body slammed me and broke my glasses. >> get the hell out of here. >> you would like me to get the hell out of here. i'll also call the police. can i get you guys' names. >> fox's acuna says gianforte grabbed reporter ben jacobs around the neck with both hands and slammed him to the ground. punch jacobs. the sheriff's office charged gianforte with misdemeanor assault. he's been a strong supporter of donald trump and the

. >> reporter: fox news correspondent alicia acuna was in the room and backed up jacobs' account writingianforte grabbed jacob by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground. gianforte's campaign issued a statement saying jacobs aggressively shoved a recorder in greg's face and said jacobs grabbed greg's wrists and spun away from greg pushing them both to the ground. gianforte's challenger democrat rob quist declined to comment. >> i think that's a matter for law enforcement. >> reporter: we met gianforte last month in bozeman. >> people have lost faith in washington. we've got federal agencies that are way outside their sand bok. we need to reign them back in. >> reporter: gianforte faces a misdemeanor assault charge and has to appear in court in june. meg oliver cbs news new york. >> well, a document that reached the top levels of the fbi including former director james comey appears to have been based on faulty intelligence possibly planted by the russians. the document reportedly showed that then attorney general loretta lynch colluded with the clinton campaign to squash

. >> fox's alicia acuna was in the room and verified the alleged assault.ewspapers in montana then coursed him have now withdrawn their support. >>> fox5 system your station for politics. tweet us right now. let us know was think about that or anything else going on in the world of politics. use that #5a30 your tweets coming up on our political show tonight at 6:30. >> some virginia police departments getting a big boost from a group of 7-eleven franchise owners. they hosted a franchise leadership council event in springfield today where owners gathered to preview and sample new innovative products. funds are being donated to the police departments in various counties. we spoke to one owner about why they cl chose to do this. >> i think that our police departments are key to our business. they are -- they are there every day when we need them and they are there also to help us feel safe. they come to our store every single day any time. they're 24 hours, we're 24 hours. so, we work really well together. and, you know, they are the first line of our defense

but alicia acuna, a reporter from the usually conservative fox news, was an eyewitness. >> gianforte grabbed him by the neck, both hands, slid him to the side, body slammed him and then got on top of him and started punching and then yelling at him. >> reporter: republican house speaker paul ryan did not endorse the candidate's actions. >> that is wrong and it should not have happened. i think he should apologize. >> reporter: gianforte has disappeared. he was last seen driving away from the incident and canceled all appearances today. as for voters, elizabeth green said a congressional candidate should act the way she teaches her son sam. >> like i tell my son, it's important to keep your hands to yourself and to use your words. and if a candidate for congress can't do that, then definitely doesn't deserve to have that position. >> reporter: doug steiner voted for gianforte. the incident did not change his mind. >> no. >> reporter: why not? >> because i've heard too many versions of it and i'm not sure what happened. >> reporter: so -- >> no offense, sir, but i don't trust the media

alicia acuna is with us. she witnessed the attack and joins us from bozeman. cia. >> hi, eric. a couple of minutes in his victory speech, gianforte told supporters that he made a mistake and apologized for an action he couldn't take back. here's more. >> i'm sorry, mr. ben jacobs. i also want to apologize to the fox news team that was there. and i'm sorry to each one of you that we had to go through this. that's not the person i am. it's not the way i'll lead in this state. >> gianforte is facing a misdemeanor assault charge for the incident in which his response to a journalist turned violent when he grabbed reporter ben jacobs and threw him on the ground. president trump, while in italy, expre expressed his pleasure with the outcome. >> a great win in montana. >> and eric, according to the sheriff's office, gianforte must appear in court by june 7. eric? >> eric: meanwhile, he's headed to capitol hill. once he's sworn in as a congressman, could he face any punishment in the house? >> still a big question. the u.s. congress has the power to decide whether or n

he was in the middle of setting up for an interview with alicia acuna who works for fox news. >> lovely david: thinking about that, meanwhile this guy stick as mic or cell phone in front of his space and keeps shoving it in he despite attempts to move it away. he snapped. you have to be prepared running for office. >> you have to be prepared. you bring up a good point, there is so much national and global attention on these small local races right now, because a lot of people are wondering whether or not president donald trump will tip the balance what should be red districts, comfortably red districts. there is a lot of attention whether or not the pendulum is swinging. whether or not democrats are gaining ground. floods of reporters come to the local area. they have to get to the job done. david: they come with an ideology of their own. "the guardian" is left-wing newspaper. he has come out with anti-trump stuff in the past. he came with history. >> politicians get in trouble for answering every question. they get baited and shouldn't be answering questions and they do. there is easy

correspondent alicia acuna tells us getting physical did not prevent greg gianforte getting elected. assured, our work is just beginning. but it does begin with me taking responsibility for my own actions. >> montana voters decided those actions, throwing down guardian reporter ben jacobs the night before the election would not cost republican businessman greg gianforte the state's only congressional seat. >> i'm sick and tired of you guys. >> i should not have treated that reporter that way. and, for that, i'm sorry mr. ben jacobs. >> 1/3 of voters had already cast early ballots in a special election to replace now secretary of interior ryan zinke's house seat. democrats were hopeful the incident would give challenger rob quist a local musician with support from senator bernie sanders a last minute surge. but, in the end the republican pulled off a 6 point win. president trump celebrated the victory while in italy for the g-7 meetings. >while gianforte came nowhere near donald trump's 20 point win in montana. it's a relief for republicans who sought historically safe g.o.p. seat sud

fox news reporter alicia acuna, who was in the room, described the scene very differently. >> when ben jacobs from the guardian came in with his recorder, placed his recorder right up to him about here, and started asking him questions about the cbo report on the republican health care bill. and you heard what happened from there. i, myself, was standing about two feet from both gianforte and jacobs when this happened. there was a table in between us, but i did see the whole thing when gianforte grabbed him by the neck, both hands, slid him to the side, body slammed him, and then got on top of him and started punching and then yelling at him. >> in the wake of the attack, three montana newspapers rescinded their endorsements of gianforte. the billings gazette stating flatly, we will not stand by that kind of violence, period. when we come back, i'm going to speak to the reporter at the center of this all, ben jacobs. that's next. the best way to hit the beach? with neutrogena® beach defense® sunscreen. helioplex™ powered, uva uvb strong. beach strength protection for the whole family.

. >> a reporter from fox, alicia acuna, describing the incident, these are her words, "gianforte grabbeds by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him. gianforte then began punching the man as he moved on top of the reporter and began yelling something to the effect of, 'i'm sick and tired of this.'" [ audience ohs ] >> seth: well, here's a sentence i never thought i'd say. thank you, fox news, for telling us the truth. [ laughter and applause ] now, this is obviously a very weird development. but this has already been a very weird race. it's supposed to be a safe republican seat. but gianforte has been running against democrat and folk singer, rob quist. and just to give you an idea of how little confidence republicans seem to have in their candidate before he body slammed a guy, they tried to hit quist with some of the dumbest attacks possible. for example, they attacked quist after it was reported, and this is real, that he had performed a number of times over the years at a nudist resort in idaho. quist's campaign had to clarify, that he is not a nudist, him

it was witnessed by fox reporter alicia acuna and her crew. it happened in bozeman montana. gianforte was preparing for an interview with fox news in his private office. a reporter for the guardian barges in puts an audio recorder up to gianforte's face and starts asking questions about the gop healthcare bill. you can hear what happened next in this sound clip posted by the guardian. >> just curious. >> please. >> sick and tired of you guys. the last time you came in here you did the same thing. get the hell out of here. get the hell out of here. the last guy did the same thing. you with the guardian. >> yes and you just broke my glasses. >> last guy thing. >> you just g body slammed me and broke my glasses. >> get the hell out of here. >> you would like me to get the hell out of here. i'd also like to call the police. can i get you guys' names. >> hey, you got to leave. >> he just body slammed me. >> you got to leave. >> before that ben jacobs the reporter was told that he could ask at the press office about his questions and that the candidate would take care of it later.

to fill montana's open house seat has been overshadowed by this assault and fox news reporter alicia acuna her crew saw it. greg gianforte was in his private office an reporter from the guardian barges in puts a voice recorder up towards gianforte's face and starts asking questions aout the gop healthcare bill and you can hear what happened next in this audio recording posted by the guardian. >> cbo score 'cause you've been waiting to make your decision about healthcare until you will saw the bill and it just came out and. >> we'll talk to you about that later. >> yeah but there's not going to be time. >> please. sick and tired of you guys. the last time you came in here you did the same thing. get the hell out of here. get the hell out of here. the last guy did the same thing. you with the guardian. >> yes and you just broke my glasses. >> last guy did the same damn thing. and broke my glasses. >> get the hell out of here. >> you would like me to get out of here and i'd also like to call the police. can i get you guys' names. >> hey, you got to leave. >> he just body slammed me. >> you go

. >> martha: a fox news correspondent alicia acuna was standing in the room and she watched all of thisns us live tonight from bozeman, montana. this is some story. >> it is. and i wasn't there just by myself. i was also there with fox news talker for as well as fox news producer faith mangan. we were in the room setting up for a prescheduled interview with greg gianforte. we are in the middle of setting up. he walked into the room, and we just introduced ourselves, exchange pleasantries, talk about food and bozeman. very nice, and about 2 minutes into the conversation, ben jacobs with the guardian walked in and started asking questions about the congressional budget office score on the republican health care bill. and as you just heard, greg gianforte said that he would get to him later. jacobs persisted and greg gianforte then again told him to talk to shane who was his press guy and then at that point, that's when the three of us saw greg gianforte take his hands and put them up on either side of his neck, grabbed him, push him, throw him onto the ground, kind of jump on him on the s

news team who happened to be right there when this all happened, according to a fox correspondent alicia acunad see the whole thing when gianforte grabbed him by the neck, both hands, slid him to the side, body slammed him and then got on top of him and then started punching and yelling. >> let's be clear, though, both of those accounts do not match this statement from gianforte's spokesperson. it reads as follows, "that jacobs shoved a recorder in his face and started asking badgering questions. greg attempted to grab the phone that was pushed in his face. jacobs grabbed greg's wrists and spun away from greg pushing them both to the ground. it's unfortunate that this aggressive behavior fortunately a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer bbq. ryan zinke has left the seat vacant because he's works as secretary of interior. we'll speak to somebody who is the cops and courts recorder. let me ask you about gianforte in the past. has he had run-ins with reporters around town? what is his reputation there? >> no run-ins with reporters around town in bozeman specifically. t

brian: on that body slam montana situation alicia acuna was right there.ks, jillian. ainsley: coming up, is poverty a state of mind? that's what ben carson just said and people are going berserk. steve: speaking of poverty, our nato are failing to pay their fair share on the war on terror. ari fleischer coming. in. brian: he is close. ♪ i've been taking care of business ♪ everyday ♪ taking care of business ♪ every way ♪ i've been taking care of business ♪ it's all right ♪ taking care of business ♪ working overtime my daughter is... ...studying to be a dentist and she gave me advice. she said dad... ... go pro with crest pro-health. 4 out of 5 dentists confirm these crest pro-health products... &help maintain a professional clean. crest pro-health... ...really brought my mouth... ...to the next level. go pro with crest pro-health mr. brady, we've been expecting you. will you be needing anything else? no. not a thing. beautyrest black. get your beautyrest. ♪ ♪ brian: nato meeting is just few hours away. president trump set to deliver some tough remarks to th