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Montana Republican Official Who ‘Would’ve Shot’ Jewish Reporter Resigns

A Montana Republican officials has resigned after she said she “would’ve have shot” a reporter who asked pointed questions of Rep. Greg Gianforte last spring.

Karen Marshall, who serves as vice president of programs for Gallatin County Republican Women, said on a radio show that if Ben Jacobs would have approached her, “I would have shot him.”

Marshall argued that Jacobs, a reporter for the Guardian, “came on private property, came into a private building, and went into a very private room” and that his questions presented to Gianforte were “a setup. A complete setup. He just pushed a little too hard.”

In fact, Jacobs approached the lawmaker in a room set up for a TV interview.

On Monday, the Gallatin County Republican Women announced that Karen Marshall resigned from the organization’s board.

Gianforte, a Montana congressman, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault and donated $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists, but the case, apparently, is not over.

Contact Nathan Guttman at guttman@forward.com or on Twitter @nathanguttman

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