Trump Campaign Denies Breitbart Reporter's Assault Accusation
— -- The Trump campaign has denied a report that a Breitbart News reporter was allegedly assaulted by Donald Trump's campaign manager Corey Lewandowski at a campaign news conference Tuesday night.
Michelle Fields, who covers politics for Breitbart, spoke out about the incident for the first time in a new op-ed posted to the news outlet's website overnight, saying she was "jolted backwards" after she posed a question to the Republican front-runner.
"Trump acknowledged the question, but before he could answer I was jolted backwards. Someone had grabbed me tightly by the arm and yanked me down. I almost fell to the ground, but was able to maintain my balance. Nonetheless, I was shaken," Fields writes in the post.
Fields did not see who pulled her but said The Washington Post’s Ben Terris identified the aggressor as Lewandowski.
"I watched as a man with short-cropped hair and a suit grabbed her arm and yanked her out of the way. He was Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s 41-year-old campaign manager," Terris wrote in a Washington Post story published today.
The Trump campaign denied the encounter today, calling it "entirely false."
"The accusation, which has only been made in the media and never addressed directly with the campaign, is entirely false," Trump campaign press secretary Hope Hicks said in a statement. "As one of dozens of individuals present as Mr. Trump exited the press conference I did not witness any encounter. In addition to our staff, which had no knowledge of said situation, not a single camera or reporter of more than 100 in attendance captured the alleged incident."
Fields took to Twitter to reply to the Trump campaign's denial of her story, sharing a photo of her bruised arm and pointing to Terris as a witness to the alleged assault.
On Wednesday, Breitbart News CEO and president Larry Solov called the incident "unacceptable" and said that Lewandowski should apologize.
"It’s obviously unacceptable that someone crossed a line and made physical contact with our reporter," Solov said in a statement. "What Michelle has told us directly is that someone 'grabbed her arm' and while she did not see who it was, Ben Terris of The Washington Post told her that it was Corey Lewandowski. If that’s the case, Corey owes Michelle an immediate apology."
As of Thursday morning, Breitbart News spokesman Kurt Bardella said the organization had yet to hear from Lewandowski or the Trump campaign.
"We have not heard from Lewandowski or the Trump campaign since news of this broke," said Bardella.
Ben Shapiro, Breitbart editor-at-large, has since taken to Twitter to call on Trump to fire Lewandowski.
