After pleading guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge, Judge Rick West initially appeared to be sentencing Greg Gianforte to two to four days in jail for assaulting reporter Ben Jacobs.
It turns out Gianforte was not eligible for the work program and Judge West changed his mind on the jail portion of Gianforte’s sentencing.
In addition, Gianforte paid $4,000 in restitution to Jacobs and $585 to the state of Montana. Gianforte also made a sizeable donation to the Committee to Protect Journalists:
Last week Jacobs and Gianforte announced they reached a civil settlement that included Gianforte writing an apology letter and donating $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Jacobs, who attended the hearing, read from a statement that said Gianforte slammed him to the ground and punched him. When asked by the judge what happened during the assault, Gianforte said he grabbed for Jacobs’ cellphone and ended up grabbing his wrists and the two men ended up on the ground.
Via an attorney, Jacobs said the worst part was listening to Gianforte smear him and lie about the assault:
Gianforte turned to Jacobs in the courtroom and apologized, adding he wanted to sit down with him in D.C. when Jacobs is “ready.”