Antifa ‘protesters’ beat up, rob journalist Andy Ngo in Portland; spike milkshakes with cement

By LU Staff
Antifa ‘protesters’ beat up, rob journalist Andy Ngo in Portland; spike milkshakes with cement
Andy Ngo, just before the fists start flying at his head. Portland, June 2019. Twitter video

At this point, observers are justified in asking whether anything will motivate Portland, Oregon Mayor Ted Wheeler to crack down on the lawlessness routinely tolerated from Antifa.

On Saturday, the Proud Boys group scheduled a rally near downtown Portland.  The radical left group Antifa showed up, as it always does, for a “counter-protest.”  New media journalist Andy Ngo was walking with the crowd of Antifa marchers covering their activities, and while it is not clear what happened just before the event, a video clip has gone viral on social media showing Antifa thugs first throwing at least one milkshake on Ngo, spraying him with some kind of liquid coming out of a hose, and moving in to beat him about the head and shoulders.

There might be more evidence of the event on Ngo’s GoPro camera, but he reported it stolen in the attack.  The video circulating on social media was taken by someone else.  (It’s in Jim Ryan’s feed here.)

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Ngo began to move out of the crowd as quickly as he could, while Antifa thugs taunted him and threw things at him.  One individual threw what appeared to be a rock, hitting Ngo in the back of the head.  Ian Miles Cheong says it was a brick.

Additional video was posted showing Ngo with injuries to his face and head, being tended and questioned by emergency workers.

Ngo was taken to the emergency room for treatment.  There is a GoFundMe page set up for him.

Other video clips in the first tweet thread show milkshakes being provided to Antifa marchers, and the marchers’ progress toward the area where the Proud Boys were scheduled to rally.

(Antifa’s milkshake suppliers — Soi Boi — seen in these clips.)

One brief clip has footage of the “confrontation,” in which the police have interposed themselves between the two groups. Antifa goons are throwing things at the Proud Boys and shouting threats.  Other tweets report that the police were being hit by milkshakes and projectiles.  The Proud Boys appear to be somewhat outnumbered and are standing on their side of the street holding their phones and cameras out to record the event.

Incredibly, some Twitter users actually chimed in with replies in the tweet streams, rebuking Ngo for showing up to cover Antifa’s activities – i.e., clearly implying that he was asking for mistreatment by being there.

ABC’s Jake Tapper alertly tweeted links to video clips of other journalists being attacked by Antifa.

The attacks Tapper highlights were also disgraceful, but ultimately, this isn’t really about journalists being attacked.  No one should be subject to such attacks, merely for showing up to exercise his First Amendment rights in public.  Whether you agree with the Proud Boys or not, they should be able to rally without coming under attack.  Antifa should be accorded the same respect – if it accepts the First Amendment social compact and accords that respect to others.

Antifa, in fact, is accorded that respect in Portland.  It’s accorded more than respect; Antifa is given special license to misbehave.

Ambassador Richard Grenell, the U.S. Ambassador to Germany, was one of several high-profile personalities to weigh in on this and point out that Mayor Wheeler is not zealously enforcing the rule of law in Portland.

Wheeler is instead letting Antifa run rampant.  In an ominous sign of escalation, the Portland Police Department tweeted Saturday afternoon that it had received reports of milkshakes being spiked with quick-drying cement.  Quick-drying cement would do serious damage to someone’s skin, eyes, nasal passages, and mouth.

No one but Antifa was throwing milkshakes in Portland on Saturday.  There will probably be a lot more detail coming out on the attacks launched by Antifa today, but we already know enough to recognize that the law is being enforced in Portland with bias, inequality, and apparently with malice against the peaceful and law-abiding.

Noah Pollak has a pretty good take.

Angry social media users are urging Wheeler to resign and demanding a recall election for him.  The lawlessness Antifa can now engage in with impunity suggests it may even be time for the governor of Oregon to intervene.

LU Staff

LU Staff

Promoting and defending liberty, as defined by the nation’s founders, requires both facts and philosophical thought, transcending all elements of our culture, from partisan politics to social issues, the workings of government, and entertainment and off-duty interests. Liberty Unyielding is committed to bringing together voices that will fuel the flame of liberty, with a dialogue that is lively and informative.

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