In Support of Free Press…

Dear Editor,

I am writing to you because of the assault committed by Greg Gianforte, candidate and now winner of the special election in Montana. My husband and I have many relatives and friends who live in Montana, including all of our grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I do not believe that Mr. Gianforte is someone who should be representing them. Not only did Mr. Gianforte assault a reporter, he then lied and tried to cover up what really happened. What he did was wrong and his actions show that he is not someone of the right character to be in public office.

A reporter should be able to ask a question without fear of being assaulted, arrested or bullied. Ask yourself how you would feel if the reporter was your son or your daughter, or someone you knew, who was grabbed by the throat, thrown to the ground and punched by the candidate? Be honest.

Please support a free press. Buy a subscription to your local paper(s) and buy another one to a newspaper in a different area of the country. Thank a reporter. I don’t always agree with everything published in my local paper, but I appreciate the job that reporters do and it is my hope that they will report both sides of an issue with fairness and honesty.

Thank you, employees of the Sandpoint Reader. The job that you do has never been more important.

Connie Burkhart
Hope

Connie,

We appreciate your sentiments and agree whole-heartedly with your opinion about Mr. Gianforte. There is never an excuse for physical violence, especially when it is directed toward a reporter who was simply doing his job.

-Ben Olson, publisher