The Republican congressman Greg Gianforte may have earned himself a head start on fundraising for his next campaign when he “body-slammed” a Guardian reporter on the eve of his victory in Montana’s special election, according to a recent filing.

The report from the Federal Election Committee shows that the day after the incident, Gianforte’s campaign brought more donation money than it had in the prior five days combined, including 25 donations of the maximum $2,700 allowed by law from an individual to a given candidate. For perspective, the day before the assault, Gianforte had received two such maximum donations. The day before that, he received none. In total, the campaign collected more than $116,000 after the attack.

The FEC filing is consistent with statements made by Gianforte’s campaign on election day that more than $100,000 had come in since the incident.

The surge in donations also corresponded with election day, which could also have pushed some people to donate – but election day fundraising spikes are also not typical, as it is more or less too late for a campaign to do anything with the money.

Gianforte filed for his 2018 re-election campaign on 2 June, before he had even been sworn into Congress. The post-assault windfall will presumably roll over into his re-election fund, unless the congressman uses it to settle outstanding debts from the special election.

The bodyslam giveth and it taketh away, however. The multimillionaire Gianforte pledged to donate $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists as part of an agreement to settle any potential civil claims. In an accompanying letter to Ben Jacobs, the reporter whom the congressman attacked, Gianforte described his conduct as “unprofessional, unacceptable, and unlawful”.

Gianforte was also sentenced to community service and a small fine after pleading guilty to the criminal charge of misdemeanor assault.