Moore campaign official turns violent, attacks reporter

And on Monday night, one campaign official took that all too literally.

According to Alabama-based investigative reporter Connor Sheets, a member of Moore’s campaign physically accosted a cameraman who was attempting to film Moore’s arrival at a rally in Henagar, Alabama.

The man was later identified as Tony Goolsby, a county coordinator for the GOP candidate’s campaign.

Raw video: Man wearing Roy Moore sticker physically attacked a cameraman attempting to film Moore's arrival outside campaign rally a few minutes ago here in Henagar, Alabama. Another man w/ Moore sticker verbally assaulted a second cameraman. pic.twitter.com/faJVV8YpE0

— Connor Sheets (@ConnorASheets) November 28, 2017

CONFIRMED: the man who grabbed the camera is Tony Goolsby, DeKalb County coordinator for Roy Moore's campaign. He organized tonight's rally. https://t.co/ZOcFL1dZaI

— Connor Sheets (@ConnorASheets) November 28, 2017

Goolsby is not an aberration. Ever since Donald Trump glorified violence against the press, Republicans around the country have been emboldened to intimidate and even assault journalists.

In Montana, Republican congressional candidate Greg Gianforte body-slammed Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs in response to a question about health care. He pleaded guilty to assault, but was elected anyway.

And in Virginia, GOP gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie tried to have Shareblue Media reporter Mike Stark ejected from a parade rather than answer his questions. But Stark wasn’t simply turned away — he was thrown to the ground and then arrested by six police officers, before finally being released.

Republicans have in general shown a callousness toward anyone exercising their rights to stand up to them, with several openly fantasizing about vehicular assault against protesters in roads.

The Moore campaign needs to answer for this incident. Our democracy is under grave threat, and an assault on journalists is an assault on the Constitution.