Corey Lewandowski, 41, the campaign manager for Donald Trump whose name was slung far and wide in the media after a Breitbart journalist – now, ex-Breitbart journalist – accused him of accosting her at a rally, was formally charged with misdemeanor battery Tuesday.
He turned himself in to Jupiter, Florida, police early in the morning, the Palm Beach Post reported.
Lewandowski was accused by ex-Breitbart journalist Michelle Fields, 28, of grabbing her arm and pushing her so hard she nearly toppled to the floor during a March 8 campaign stop in Florida. Washington Post reporter Ben Terris shortly after wrote he witnessed the incident, and told Fields the perpetrator was Lewandowski. She filed a police report a few days later, as WND previously reported.
Media video cast doubt on Fields’ story, as well as on the identification of Lewandowski as an assaulter. Some video clips showed Fields seemed simply to be guided by the arm from the path of Trump, who was exiting a stage and walking through the crowd, and not, as she claimed, nearly thrust to the floor. Video also showed that a security official may have been the one who grabbed her arm, not Lewandowski.
Regardless, Fields took to Twitter to showcase a photograph of what she said was her bruised arm in the incident. She shortly after resigned from Breitbart, claiming the news organization did not do enough to support her allegations. Another Breitbart staffer, Ben Shapiro, the editor-at-large, also resigned in protest, saying higher-ups in the organization “abandoned” Fields “in order to protect Trump’s bully campaign manager,” the Palm Beach Post reported.
Lewandowski, meanwhile, when alerted to Fields’ claims, took to Twitter to say to her: “You are totally delusional. I never touched you. As a matter of fact, I have never even met you.”
Police continued to investigate the incident, even after Fields left her position at Breitbart.
On Tuesday, they acted on a report filed by Fields and charged Lewandowski with the misdemeanor. The Trump campaign, meanwhile, issued a full denial of the charges.
In an emailed statement, the campaign said: “Mr. Lewandowski was issued a Notice to Appear and given a court date. He was not arrested. Mr. Lewandowski is absolutely innocent of this charge. 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. Mr. Lewandowski is represented by Scott Richardson of the law office of Scott N. Richardson, P.A. in West Palm Beach, and Kendall Coffey of Coffey Burlington in Miami.”
The statement also directed all media with questions to contact Richardson’s office.
Trump discussed the matter with reporters late in the day Tuesday, and urged people to view the video and compare it with Fields’ initial statement.
“You take a look at her initial statement. It sounded like she got thrown out of a building,” Trump said. “Take a look at her facial expression. Her facial expression doesn’t even change.”
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Lewandowski was given a court date of May 4. Florida law defines simple battery, which is Lewandowski’s official charge, as intentionally touching or hitting a person against that person’s will. Those found guilty of the offense face a fine of up to $1,000 or a maximum one year in prison.
Richardson didn’t clarify if Lewandowski would relinquish his role as Trump’s campaign manager, Reuters reported.
“It’s hardball out there,” commented radio host Rush Limbaugh about the battery charge.
Trump, in response, sent out some scathing tweets, defending his campaign manager.
In one, he wrote: “Why aren’t people looking at this reporters earliest statement as to what happened, that is before she found out the episode was on tape?”
In another, he tweeteed: “Wow, Corey Lewandowski, my campaign manager and a very decent man, was just charged with assaulting a reporter. Look at tapes-nothing there!”
