Assault on Right-Wing Writer Calls Attention to Antifa

Andy Ngo ended up in the ER after being roughed up during protest
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 1, 2019 10:00 AM CDT
Assault on Right-Wing Writer Calls Attention to Antifa
After a confrontation between authorities and protesters, police use pepper spray as multiple groups, including Rose City Antifa, the Proud Boys, and others protest in downtown Portland, Ore., on Saturday.   (Dave Killen/The Oregonian via AP)

Portland had a volatile weekend, one that police have officially termed a civil disturbance, though not a riot, reports the Oregonian. In all, three people were arrested and three were hospitalized in clashes between "antifa," or anti-fascist demonstrators, and far-right groups such as the Proud Boys. But the biggest flashpoint centers around one of the three people who ended up in the hospital—Andy Ngo of the conservative website Quillette. The details:

  • The assault: This video shows Ngo getting roughed up by demonstrators. Police didn't intervene. Ngo later tweeted a photo of himself in the ER showing bruises on his face.
  • The criticism: Sen. Ted Cruz is among those calling out the police and city officials. "To federal law enforcement: investigate & bring legal action against a Mayor who has, for political reasons, ordered his police officers to let citizens be attacked by domestic terrorists," he wrote. Mayor Ted Wheeler has not commented, but the Oregonian knows of no such order to police to stand down.

  • Condemnation: Conservative sites in particular are calling attention to the violence. "When is it fine for an all-white gang to assault an Asian American in broad daylight?" asks Dominic Green at the Spectator USA. "When he's a conservative journalist. Where is it fine to do this? Portland, Ore. How do you do it? By all means necessary." But more-mainstream journalists agreed, with Jake Tapper of CNN calling the antifa assault on Ngo "reprehensible" and CNN media writer Brian Stelter calling it "unacceptable." Ngo's critics, meanwhile, justified the assault.
  • GoFundMe: Conservative writer Michelle Malkin started a GoFundMe page for Ngo, which had raised about $140,000 as of Monday morning.
  • Who he is: Ngo made headlines last year with an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal about his visit to Islamic neighborhoods in London. It was panned as "race-baiting" and Islamophobic. Ngo also has criticized antifa tactics as an analyst on Fox News, notes Reason.
  • Organizer: Another figure on the right played a role in the protests, notes Heavy.com. Activist Haley Adams set up a "Him Too" march that drew counterprotesters.
(More Portland, Oregon stories.)

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