Journalist Andy Ngo, who has spent years documenting the activities of the anarcho-communist group Antifa, confirmed in a statement on June 2 that he was once again assaulted while he was reporting on protests in Portland, Oregon.
The attack against Ngo occurred on May 28 when the journalist was covering a rally on the anniversary of George Floyd's death. Several
media outlets reported that a group of protesters pursued and assaulted a man who they believed was Ngo. However, the man's identity couldn't be confirmed at the time.
In his account, Ngo, editor-at-large for The Post Millennial, said the assault began shortly before midnight when an Antifa member who had allegedly assaulted the journalist in 2019 approached him with questions. Ngo said he attempted to avoid speaking with the man and walked away, but "a group of masked people in black" began pursuing and surrounding him. One of the protesters pulled down Ngo's mask and immediately yelled: “That’s Andy. Get him! Get him!”
Ngo recounted how the group chased him through downtown Portland before tackling him to the ground in front of Pioneer Place Mall. His attackers allegedly punched him in his head and face.
"I pleaded for them not to kill me. All the time I could hear the angry cries and footsteps of the mob approaching," Ngo wrote.
He said that at one point, he managed to crawl away and escape to the nearest business, which was The Nines hotel. He
alleged that while he was inside, members of the group began pounding on the doors and windows while screaming Ngo's name. He said the episode lasted for about an hour before riot police arrived.
Video footage of the incident released by
Willamette Week shows individuals, some clad in black and masks, yelling "Nazi scum" and expletives at The Nines hotel. The individuals appeared to have spotted Ngo, and began screaming his name and pounding on the windows. At one point, several individuals attempted to gain entrance into the hotel, but employees blocked their path. Other individuals continued to yell expletives in the direction of the hotel.
Ngo was eventually transferred to the hospital for injuries to
his head and body. Photos show that Ngo was scraped, bleeding, and bruised.
He closed his statement calling on authorities to take action against the Antifa group and urged journalists to support him by standing up for the First Amendment.
"I call on the Portland Police and federal authorities to act on this before Antifa operatives hiding behind their masks succeed in murdering an American journalist on their watch. And I call on journalists and all those who believe in the First Amendment to join me in standing against the tyranny of those who use violence to terrorize, silence, and suppress the truth," Ngo wrote.
The Portland Police Bureau confirmed to The Epoch Times that the incident is under investigation but did not provide further comment.
A Portland Police spokesperson
told Oregon Live on May 28 that an individual who reported being chased had gotten into an ambulance.
Ngo was
brutally assaulted in 2019 while covering one of Antifa's protests. The scene was captured by a local reporter in video footage that shows Antifa members punching him in the face, kicking him, and hurling cups of a white substance at the journalist. Portland Police
later said the cups contained quick-drying cement mixed into milkshakes. He sustained a brain hemorrhage, which doctors said could have been fatal.
Antifa’s origins can be traced back to
the “anti-fascist” movement in Germany, which was part of the Soviet Union’s front operations to incite a communist revolution in the European country. In the United States, the group claims that its members are fighting fascism, but instead they're labeling parties and individuals who don’t align with their ideology as “fascists” to justify their use of violence against them.
The group has frequently made headlines for its violent attacks on opposing groups, particularly supporters of former President Donald Trump, whom they have branded as “fascists.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray in September 2020
described Antifa as more of an ideological movement than an organization.
Ngo told
The Epoch Times in an interview with “Crossroads” in February that Antifa is “more than an idea. It’s also a movement.” It has networks of organizations, and some of them are organized into formal groups, he said.
Ella Kietlinska contributed to this report.
Article updated with Portland Police Bureau's response to request to comment.
