Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump stands between his campaign manager Corey Lewandowski (L) and his son Eric (R). (Reuters file photo)
US Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, was arrested and charged with misdemeanour battery in Florida on Tuesday, the latest chapter in a raucous White House race marked by threats, insults and physical confrontations.
Police in Jupiter, Florida, charged Lewandowski, 42, with intentionally grabbing and bruising the arm of Michelle Fields, then a reporter for the conservative news outlet Breitbart, when she tried to question Trump at a campaign event on March 8.
"Mr. Lewandowski is absolutely innocent of this charge," Trump's campaign said in a statement. "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."
Police released a video of the incident showing Fields walking alongside Trump and trying to question him. Lewandowski is seen grabbing her arm and pulling her backward. Previous videos of the incident had been obscured by people in the crowd.
At the time, Lewandowski called Fields "delusional" and said he never touched her.
Campaign rallies for Trump, the billionaire businessman who leads the race to become the Republican candidate in the Nov. 8 presidential election, are tumultuous at times and have been marked by occasional clashes between protesters and supporters or security personnel.
His pugnacious campaign style, which includes personal insults directed at rivals and scathing criticism of protesters, has been criticized for encouraging physical altercations at his rallies.
The real estate mogul leads rivals Ted Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas, and Ohio Governor John Kasich in opinion polls and in the number of delegates to the nominating convention, despite a concerted effort to stop him by a Republican establishment worried he will lead the party to defeat in November.
Cruz picked up the endorsement on Tuesday of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker ahead of the state's primary next week. Walker, who dropped out of the presidential race last year, called Cruz a principled constitutional conservative.
"I'm all in," Walker said in a radio interview on WTMJ radio in Milwaukee, adding he was not endorsing Cruz in an attempt to stop Trump.
"I just fundamentally believe if you look at the facts, if you look at the numbers, that Ted Cruz is in the best position by far to both win the nomination of the Republican Party and to then go on and defeat Hillary Clinton in the fall this year," Walker said, referring to the Democratic front-runner.
Walker joins a number of other more establishment Republicans who have backed Cruz as an alternative to Trump, who has racked up a strong delegate lead but alienated many party leaders with his harsh views on illegal immigration, Muslims and women.
'Abusive Culture'
Cruz told reporters while campaigning in Wisconsin that the charges against Lewandowski reflected the "abusive" culture of the Trump campaign.
"When you have a campaign that is built on personal insults, attacks and now physical violence, that has no place in our campaign, it has no place in our democracy," Cruz said.
Kasich said he considered such behaviour "totally and completely" inappropriate.
"If it was me, if I were in this circumstance, I would take some sort of action, either suspension or firing," Kasich told reporters in Wisconsin.
Trump defended Lewandowski after he was charged. "Look at tapes - nothing there!" Trump said on Twitter, calling Lewandowski "a very decent man."
Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson told CNN that Lewandowski would "absolutely" stay on the job.
Republican strategist Katie Packer, who runs an anti-Trump Super PAC, said the incident and the charges against Lewandowski reflected the candidate's lack of respect toward women.
"He doesn't have the kind of values and the kind of temperament that we should expect from someone who wants to be commander in chief," she said.
Lewandowski was charged with simple battery, defined under Florida law as intentionally touching or striking a person against their will. For a first offence, it is a misdemeanour in the first degree, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison or a fine of $1,000.
A court date was set for May 4, according to the police report. Jupiter police said Lewandowski turned himself in, and he was issued a notice requiring him to appear in court and then released. He was not booked into the jail.
Lewandowski's lawyer, Scott Richardson of West Palm Beach, Florida, declined to comment on whether his client would step down as campaign manager. Lewandowski will also be represented by Kendall Coffey, a Miami lawyer, the campaign said.
Fields resigned from Breitbart less than a week after the incident, citing what she said was the online news outlet's refusal to stand behind her amid the allegations.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Police in Jupiter, Florida, charged Lewandowski, 42, with intentionally grabbing and bruising the arm of Michelle Fields, then a reporter for the conservative news outlet Breitbart, when she tried to question Trump at a campaign event on March 8.
"Mr. Lewandowski is absolutely innocent of this charge," Trump's campaign said in a statement. "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."
Police released a video of the incident showing Fields walking alongside Trump and trying to question him. Lewandowski is seen grabbing her arm and pulling her backward. Previous videos of the incident had been obscured by people in the crowd.
At the time, Lewandowski called Fields "delusional" and said he never touched her.
Campaign rallies for Trump, the billionaire businessman who leads the race to become the Republican candidate in the Nov. 8 presidential election, are tumultuous at times and have been marked by occasional clashes between protesters and supporters or security personnel.
His pugnacious campaign style, which includes personal insults directed at rivals and scathing criticism of protesters, has been criticized for encouraging physical altercations at his rallies.
The real estate mogul leads rivals Ted Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas, and Ohio Governor John Kasich in opinion polls and in the number of delegates to the nominating convention, despite a concerted effort to stop him by a Republican establishment worried he will lead the party to defeat in November.
Cruz picked up the endorsement on Tuesday of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker ahead of the state's primary next week. Walker, who dropped out of the presidential race last year, called Cruz a principled constitutional conservative.
"I'm all in," Walker said in a radio interview on WTMJ radio in Milwaukee, adding he was not endorsing Cruz in an attempt to stop Trump.
"I just fundamentally believe if you look at the facts, if you look at the numbers, that Ted Cruz is in the best position by far to both win the nomination of the Republican Party and to then go on and defeat Hillary Clinton in the fall this year," Walker said, referring to the Democratic front-runner.
Walker joins a number of other more establishment Republicans who have backed Cruz as an alternative to Trump, who has racked up a strong delegate lead but alienated many party leaders with his harsh views on illegal immigration, Muslims and women.
'Abusive Culture'
Cruz told reporters while campaigning in Wisconsin that the charges against Lewandowski reflected the "abusive" culture of the Trump campaign.
"When you have a campaign that is built on personal insults, attacks and now physical violence, that has no place in our campaign, it has no place in our democracy," Cruz said.
Kasich said he considered such behaviour "totally and completely" inappropriate.
"If it was me, if I were in this circumstance, I would take some sort of action, either suspension or firing," Kasich told reporters in Wisconsin.
Trump defended Lewandowski after he was charged. "Look at tapes - nothing there!" Trump said on Twitter, calling Lewandowski "a very decent man."
Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson told CNN that Lewandowski would "absolutely" stay on the job.
Republican strategist Katie Packer, who runs an anti-Trump Super PAC, said the incident and the charges against Lewandowski reflected the candidate's lack of respect toward women.
"He doesn't have the kind of values and the kind of temperament that we should expect from someone who wants to be commander in chief," she said.
Lewandowski was charged with simple battery, defined under Florida law as intentionally touching or striking a person against their will. For a first offence, it is a misdemeanour in the first degree, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison or a fine of $1,000.
A court date was set for May 4, according to the police report. Jupiter police said Lewandowski turned himself in, and he was issued a notice requiring him to appear in court and then released. He was not booked into the jail.
Lewandowski's lawyer, Scott Richardson of West Palm Beach, Florida, declined to comment on whether his client would step down as campaign manager. Lewandowski will also be represented by Kendall Coffey, a Miami lawyer, the campaign said.
Fields resigned from Breitbart less than a week after the incident, citing what she said was the online news outlet's refusal to stand behind her amid the allegations.
© Thomson Reuters 2016
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
