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Trump’s Campaign Manager Charged With Simple Battery For Allegedly Grabbing a Reporter

With battery charges against his campaign manager, violence allegedly reached Trump's inner circle.

GettyImages-514807380
GettyImages-514807380

A common theme during Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump’s campaign has been violence, both against protesters and the media. The ferocity has now allegedly reached his inner circle.

A common theme during Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump’s campaign has been violence, both against protesters and the media. The ferocity has now allegedly reached his inner circle.

On Tuesday, Trump’s campaign announced that Florida police have charged Trump’s campaign manager Corey Lewandowski with simple battery, a misdemeanor, in connection with an incident with reporter Michelle Fields. The former journalist for Breitbart, a conservative news outlet, accused Lewandowski of grabbing her arm hard enough to leave a bruise when she approached Trump to ask him a question on March 8.

Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks said Lewandowski is “absolutely innocent.” He is set to appear in court May 4.

“Mr. Lewandowski was issued a notice to appear and was given a court date. He was not arrested. Mr. Lewandowski is absolutely innocent of this charge,” Hicks said in an emailed statement to Foreign Policy. “He will enter a plea of not guilty and looks forward to his day in court. He is completely confident that he will be exonerated.”

Police from Jupiter, Florida, where the incident occurred, released a video of it, which appears to show Trump’s right-hand-man reaching out and grabbing Fields, as she alleges.  

Following the alleged incident, Lewandowski denied he touched Fields.

Violence has become a common occurrence at Trump’s campaign rallies. Earlier this month, a Trump supporter was charged with assault after videos showed him sucker-punching a protester at a campaign rally in Fayetteville, N.C. A Trump rally in Chicago was cancelled in early March after his supporters clashed with protesters. In February, a Time magazine photographer was slammed to the ground by a Secret Service officer protecting the billionaire businessman.

But these incidents have done little to stop Trump’s march toward the Republican nomination for the presidency. National polls show him leading Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, his closest challenger, by wide margins.

Hicks said Lewandowski is being represented by law offices of Scott N. Richardson of West Palm Beach, Fla., and Kendall Coffey of Coffey Burlington in Miami.

FP’s Molly O’Tolle contributed to this report. 

Photo credit: JOE RAEDLE/Getty Images

 

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