Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields and editor-at-large Ben Shapiro announced their resignations from the conservative news site Sunday, less than a week after Ms. Fields claims she was assaulted by Donald Trump’s presidential campaign manager at a rally in Florida.
“Today I informed the management at Breitbart News of my immediate resignation,” Ms. Fields told BuzzFeed News in a statement sent Sunday night. “I do not believe Breitbart News has adequately stood by me during the events of the past week and because of that I believe it is now best for us to part ways.”
Ms. Fields, a former Fox News contributor, said she was attempting to interview Mr. Trump after a Tuesday rally in Jupiter when she was grabbed from behind and nearly tossed to the floor by campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.
Despite being witnessed by a Washington Post reporter, the billionaire businessman’s campaign has rejected Ms. Fields’ claim as “entirely false” and part of a “pattern of exaggerating incidents.”
Ms. Fields filed a police report after Tuesday’s altercation with the Jupiter Police Department, ABC News reported.
Breitbart initially backed Ms. Fields, calling for an “immediate apology” from the Trump camp if the allegations were proven true, but later claimed video footage from other news outlets shows it is “unlikely” Mr. Lewandowski caused her injuries.
“This is the Trump campaign’s problem. Let’s not let it become ours by firing in a hundred different directions,” Breitbart senior editor-at-large Joel Pollak instructed colleagues last week, according to leaked internal messages published by Buzzfeed.
Mr. Shapiro said he has resigned as well as a result of how the website acted in the wake of Tuesday’s incident.
“Both Lewandowski and Trump maligned Michelle in the most repulsive fashion,” Mr. Shapiro said in a statement. “Meanwhile, Breitbart News not only stood by and did nothing outside of tepidly asking for an apology, they then attempted to abandon Michelle by silencing staff from tweeting or talking about the issue.”
Breitbart spokesman Kurt Bardella resigned from his position last week following the incident in Florida, and another another editor and reporter will reportedly announced their resignation Monday, Politico reported, citing a Breitbart source.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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