A man has been arrested after being accused of making threatening phone calls to CNN.

Benjamin Craig Matthews, 39, from Mountain Home, Arkansas, faces multiple counts of making terrorist threats and harassing communications.

He also allegedly made death threats against a CNN host, Don Lemon.

Trump attacks CNN's Jim Acosta in angry White House press conference Show all 10 1 /10 Trump attacks CNN's Jim Acosta in angry White House press conference Trump attacks CNN's Jim Acosta in angry White House press conference Donald Trump launched an extraordinary tirade against CNN reporter Jim Acosta during a press conference following the midterm elections Reuters Trump attacks CNN's Jim Acosta in angry White House press conference The US president ordered the journalist to put down his microphone and “just sit down” AFP Trump attacks CNN's Jim Acosta in angry White House press conference The row began following a question about the migrant caravan approaching the US, when Mr Trump was asked by CNN’s Jim Acosta if he thought he had “demonised” migrants by calling the group an “invasion” EPA Trump attacks CNN's Jim Acosta in angry White House press conference “I think you should let me run the country, you run CNN, and if you did it well, your ratings would be much better,” said the President AFP/Getty Trump attacks CNN's Jim Acosta in angry White House press conference After Mr Acosta attempted to follow up his question with a second on Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, Mr Trump added, pointing angrily: “That’s enough. That’s enough. That’s enough. Excuse me, that’s enough.” Mr Trump said he was “not concerned about anything” because the investigation was “a hoax”. Continuing to berate Mr Acosta, he added: “That’s enough. Put down the mic.” As the reporter continued to quiz him, Mr Trump became more agitated and stepped away from the podium. EPA Trump attacks CNN's Jim Acosta in angry White House press conference Returning to the podium, Mr Trump said: “I’ll tell you what, CNN should be ashamed of itself having you working for them. You are a rude, terrible person. You shouldn’t be working for CNN REUTERS Trump attacks CNN's Jim Acosta in angry White House press conference Trump continued: 'The way you treat Sarah Huckabee is horrible and the way you treat other people are horrible. You shouldn’t treat people that way.” She was sitting in the room listening on REUTERS Trump attacks CNN's Jim Acosta in angry White House press conference A second reporter, Peter Alexander, was called on by the president and said: “In Jim’s defence I’ve travelled with him a lot, he’s a diligent reporter.” EPA Trump attacks CNN's Jim Acosta in angry White House press conference Mr Trump cut him off, telling the NBC News journalist that “I’m not a big fan of yours either”, prompting laughter in the room AP Trump attacks CNN's Jim Acosta in angry White House press conference Mr Acosta continued to try to ask questions without his microphone, causing Mr Trump to tell him: “Just sit down, please. When you report fake news – no – when you report fake news, which CNN does, a lot, you are the enemy of the people.” REUTERS

Matthews was taken into custody on Tuesday, the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office announced.

Sheriff John Montgomery said Atlanta police contacted his office to report CNN’s headquarters had received threatening calls between 31 October and 2 November.

The network reported more than 40 such calls were made from the same phone number.

The calls were traced to a cellphone belonging to Matthews, who was also alleged to have made threatening calls to another television network.

He remains in jail on a $15,000 bond.

Donald Trump attacks CNN reporter Jim Acosta in angry post-Midterms press conference

It comes as the White House suspended the press pass of a CNN correspondent, Jim Acosta, after he and Donald Trump had a heated confrontation during a news conference.

They began sparring on Wednesday after Mr Acosta asked President Trump about the caravan of migrants heading from Latin America to the southern US border.

When Mr Acosta tried to follow up with another question, the president said, “That’s enough!” and a female White House aide unsuccessfully tried to grab the microphone from Mr Acosta.

The White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, released a statement accusing Mr Acosta of “placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern,” calling it “absolutely unacceptable”.

The interaction between Mr Acosta and the intern was brief, and Mr Acosta appeared to brush her arm as she reached for the microphone and he tried to hold onto it.

“Pardon me, ma’am,” he told her.

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

Mr Acosta tweeted to say Ms Sanders’ statement he put his hands on the aide was “a lie”.

The White House revoked Mr Acosta’s press pass out of “retaliation for his challenging questions” CNN said in a statement, and the network accused Ms Sanders of lying about Mr Acosta’s actions.

“[Sanders] provided fraudulent accusations and cited an incident that never happened. This unprecedented decision is a threat to our democracy and the country deserves better,” CNN said.

“Jim Acosta has our full support.”