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Trump Campaign Manager Charged With Misdemeanor Battery

corey lewandowski breitbart
Corey Lewandowski and Donald Trump / AP
March 29, 2016

Corey Lewandowski, campaign manager for Donald Trump, was charged in the alleged battery of a Breitbart News reporter.

ABC News first reported the charge on social media, which came one week before the crucial Republican primary contest in Wisconsin.

Lewandowski was charged with misdemeanor battery Tuesday morning, the Palm Beach Post reported, after politics reporter Michelle Fields alleged that he forcefully grabbed her at a Trump news conference in Jupiter, Florida, on March 8. He turned himself in to authorities in Jupiter after 8 A.M. Tuesday. 

Fields publicly claimed that Lewandowski aggressively pulled her to the ground at the event, and Ben Terris, a reporter for the Washington Post who was also at the news conference, backed up Fields’ story in an article. Lewandowski has vehemently denied the claims, calling Fields "totally delusional." Trump also indicated that Fields made the story up. 

According to the arrest report, surveillance footage taken at Trump National, where the news conference and incident took place, corroborates Field’s claim. 

The Trump campaign released a statement after the charges were reported, calling Lewandowski "absolutely innocent." 

"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," the statement read. Lewandowski is due to appear in court on May 4. 

A politics reporter for Mashable posted a photo to Twitter of the arrest report issued for Lewandowski.

Fields, who resigned from Breitbart less than a week following the incident, filed a police report against Lewandowski earlier this month.