Donald Trump Campaign Manager Charged With Simple Battery

Florida police charged Donald Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski with simple battery on Tuesday, March 29, following an incident with reporter Michelle Fields earlier this month.

According to USA Today, a police report filed by the Jupiter Police Department states that Lewandowski, 41, grabbed the ex–Breitbart News Network correspondent’s arm after she asked Trump, 69, a question about affirmative action during a March 8 news conference at Trump National Golf Club.

Additionally, the police report says that surveillance footage captured at Trump National confirms 28-year-old Fields’ claim. The Palm Beach Post reports that Lewandowski turned himself in on Tuesday morning at around 8 a.m.

The Trump campaign defended Lewandowski in a statement, saying he is “absolutely innocent of this charge,” and “he is completely confident that he will be exonerated.”

Donald Trump, president and chief executive of Trump Organization Inc. and 2016 Republican presidential candidate, center, speaks during a news conference with Corey Lewandowski, campaign manager for Trump, left, at the Mar-A-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., on Tuesday, March 15, 2016. — Donald Trump, president and chief executive of Trump Organization Inc. and 2016 Republican presidential candidate, center, speaks during a news conference with Corey Lewandowski, campaign manager for Trump, left, at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, FL, on Tuesday, March 15, 2016. Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Lewandowski also took to Twitter on March 11 to deny Fields’ accusations. “@MichelleFields you are totally delusional. I never touched you,” he wrote. “As a matter of fact, I have never even met you.”

@MichelleFields you are totally delusional. I never touched you. As a matter of fact, I have never even met you.

— Corey R. Lewandowski (@CLewandowski_) March 11, 2016

Lewandowski’s boss and Republican presidential candidate Trump took to social media to slam Fields on Tuesday.

“Wow, Corey Lewandowski, my campaign manager and a very decent man, was just charged with assaulting a reporter,” he wrote. “Look at tapes-nothing there!”

Wow, Corey Lewandowski, my campaign manager and a very decent man, was just charged with assaulting a reporter. Look at tapes-nothing there!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2016

In a follow-up post, he asked his 7.32 million followers: “Why aren’t people looking at this reporter’s earliest statement as to what happened, that is before she found out the episode was on tape?”