[2] He formerly worked for The Guardian, where he gained mass media attention for being assaulted by Republican congressional candidate Greg Gianforte in May 2017.
[9] Jacobs was a freelance reporter for The New Republic, The Atlantic, Salon, and The Boston Globe before joining The Daily Beast and later The Guardian.
[12] A report in The Atlantic suggested that Jacobs' response to the body-slam, instead of fighting back, was to "get up and call out the situation for what it was ... asking for names of witnesses to the assault who will be assets to his case as it plays out in courts of law and public opinion", and that this showed a "judicious, prescient reaction" and an act of "redefining strength.
"[13] A statement by the Republican candidate blamed Jacobs for causing the incident: Tonight, as Greg was giving a separate interview in a private office, The Guardian's Ben Jacobs entered the office without permission, aggressively shoved a recorder in Greg's face, and began asking badgering questions.
CNN analyst Gregory Krieg said that the act of describing Jacobs as a "liberal journalist" was being used as an "implicit excuse for the candidate's violent behavior.