Reporter Accosted After Bachmann Comments on Migraines

http://swampland.time.com/2011/07/19/reporter-accosted-after-bachmann-comments-on-migraines/

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But for Bachmann there was no escaping the media’s intense interest in a report that she suffers from crippling migraines, as indicated by the ominous presence of ABC investigative reporter Brian Ross at her rally. (It’s a handy rule of thumb that when Brian Ross is around, you have a problem.) So shortly after her remarks, Bachmann stepped away from the stage and read a statement that her press aide Alice Stewart appeared to have been fine-tuning just moments before. Here’s an excerpt:

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Bachmann said 30 million Americans suffer from migraines and that “nearly 1 in 4 American households” have a migraine sufferer. “While I appreciate the concern for myself and for my health,” she added, looking to climb back down to safer ground, “the greater concern should be the debate that is occurring today in Washington, D.C., over whether or not we will increase our debt spending and taxes.” Bachmann reiterated that she would not vote to raise the debt ceiling. And with that, she departed without taking questions.

That’s when things got interesting. Ross dashed after Bachmann, repeatedly asking whether she had ever missed a House vote due to a migraine. She ignored him. Ross pursued her into a parking area behind the stage. Her aides grew alarmed. When Ross made a beeline for the white SUV waiting to carry Bachmann away, two Bachmann men pounced on him, grabbing and pushing him multiple times with what looked to me like unusual force. In fact, I have never seen a reporter treated so roughly at a campaign event, especially not a presidential one. Ross was finally able to break away and lob his question at Bachmann one more time, but she continued to ignore him.

Afterward, I asked Ross — a hard-nosed pro who nevertheless seemed slightly shaken — whether he had ever been treated so roughly. “A few times,” he told me. “Mostly by mafia people.”