The misdemeanor simple battery charge against Corey Lewandowski, Donald Trump's campaign manager, has been dropped. Florida prosecutors announced their decision on Thursday, according toCBS News. "As state attorney, I have made the decision that this office will not be filing charges against Corey Lewandowski for battery," Dave Aronberg, Palm Beach County state attorney, told reporters.
The initial charge stemmed from Lewandowski grabbing the arm of Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields at a Trump event on Mar. 8, an encounter that authorities concluded did result in a "grabbing-type injury." Though Lewandowski first insisted he never touched Fields, footage of the incident and photos of the injury told a very different story.
"We agree that probable cause exists for the Jupiter Police Department to have charged Mr. Lewandowski in this case," Aronberg said on Thursday. "As prosecutors, however, our standard for filing criminal charges is higher than mere probable cause. We have the burden of proving each case beyond a reasonable doubt." According to Aronberg, the evidence in this particular case simply wasn't "strong enough" to secure a "reasonable" conviction.
In a statement issued shortly after the prosecutors' announcement on Thursday, the Trump campaign touted the "consideration and professionalism" of Palm Beach officials. "The matter is now concluded," the statement insists. Fields may now be planning to pursue a defamation case against Lewandowski, according toPolitico's sources.
Though this particular matter may be "concluded," to borrow a word from the Trump campaign, it is sadly not the first incident of its kind to take place at a Trump-related event. Protesters have been sucker-punched, threatened, and told to go "go back to Auschwitz" at various Trump rallies across the nation.
