Last week, John M. Donnelly, a journalist for CQ Roll Call, said he was pinned against a wall by security workers in Washington
as he tried to ask a question of Michael P. O’Rielly, a commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission.
Joel Simon, the executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said the recent episodes were not enough
to make any sweeping statements about the way journalists are being treated since President Trump took office.
On Wednesday night, Ben Jacobs, a journalist for The Guardian, said he was “body slammed” by Greg
Gianforte, a Republican candidate in a special House election, at a campaign event in Montana.
“But what’s certainly unprecedented in modern American history is the rhetoric: the way
that Trump talks about the media, the constant verbal attacks and the framing of journalists as enemies and purveyors of fake news,” he said.
In a recording of the exchange, the sounds of a physical struggle
and a crash can be heard, followed by Mr. Gianforte saying: “I’m sick and tired of you guys!”
”You just body-slammed me and broke my glasses,” Mr. Jacobs said.
It was the last night of a closely watched campaign, and Mr. Jacobs pressed Mr. Gianforte to answer a question about health care.
