Gianforte to give communications workshop for the NRCC, group that strives to get Republicans elected to Congress

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The National Republican Congressional Committee has picked as the speaker for its next monthly communications workshop Greg Gianforte, the US congressman who violently attacked Guardian journalist Ben Jacobs and then tried to mislead the public and the police about it.

Gianforte’s hour-long communications session in February is titled “Hire for culture, train for skill” and invitations show a picture of the grinning politician above a brief biography that waxes lyrical about his entrepreneurial wealth but makes no reference to his conviction for assault.

Gianforte body-slammed Jacobs to the floor, then punched him after the political reporter tried to question him as the GOP candidate in the special election in Montana in May 2017.

Shortly after the incident, on the eve of voting, Gianforte’s campaign spokesman, Shane Scanlon, issued a statement placing the blame on Jacobs. And Gianforte initially tried to convince police that the journalist had initiated the assault, according to police records made public last November.

Greg Gianforte misled police after assault of Guardian journalist, incident report shows Read more

But at the time last May, other journalists who had witnessed and recorded audio of the altercation came forward. Gianforte subsequently pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge and was sentenced to community service, anger management classes and a $385 fine in June. He also sent a letter of apology to Jacobs.

The day after the assault, Gianforte won the special election to fill the congressional seat vacated by Ryan Zinke when he was appointed Donald Trump’s secretary of the interior.

Now the NRCC, the arm of the Republican party whose mission is to get as many GOP members elected to Congress as possible, has decided that Gianforte is their choice to lead a communications workshop.

Venturing further into the surreal, the monthly workshop is held at the National Indian Gaming Association offices in Washington and the invitation points out, specifically, that eats will be provided by Chick-fil-A, the fast-food company that made headlines in 2012 for its leadership’s anti-gay stance.

The workshop is typically attended by press relations aides to GOP members of Congress.

Gianforte is a more prominent speaker than some in previous NRCC communications workshops, which have featured figures such as professional consultants, a former press secretary for GOP speaker John Boehner and a former press aide to Jeb Bush.

Gianforte’s bio on the invitation further boasts that the congressman is known for his written work and presentations on time management, hiring and “bootstrapping” and points out that he “retains his passion for helping others achieve professional success”.

During the Montana special election last year, Gianforte had resisted several of the Guardian’s attempts to interview him and, having rebuffed a different Guardian reporter earlier, appeared enraged when Jacobs turned up and attempted to ask him about healthcare issues.

Gianforte later told the police Jacobs was “interrogating him” but was “making a story” when he reported that the politician has initiated the violence.

The Guardian, via Jacobs, had previously published an article detailing then candidate Gianforte’s financial ties to Russian companies that are the subject of sanctions by the US.

Prior to Gianforte being sentenced he had agreed a settlement with Jacobs in which the Republican agreed to pay $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists.