On the Front Line of Exposing Antifa, Andy Ngo Recalls Violent Attacks

Investigative journalist Andy Ngo fled a group of violent Antifa protesters in Portland, Oregon, in May 2021, he told Jan Jekielek on an episode of EpochTV’s “American Thought Leaders” that will air on Oct. 16 at 9 p.m. EDT.

Ngo said he feared for his life and that he cried out for assistance as he ran, his heart pounding.

“I didn’t know I could run that fast,” he said. “I’m running through downtown, sprinting, screaming for help, and nobody helps.”

Ngo, now 39, recounted the harrowing experience that unfolded late on a Friday night.

“I ran in the middle of the cars in the streets at the red light, pounding on windows and cars asking for help, and when the light turned green, they drove off,” Ngo said.

Moments later, the mob caught up with him.

He ultimately escaped to a nearby hotel, but a previous encounter in Portland had left him hospitalized.

In that 2019 incident, rioters attacked Ngo, beating and choking him until blood vessels in his eyes burst and his brain began hemorrhaging.

“That was my one near-death experience,” Ngo said. “And I was just thinking about my family and those I cared for and loved.”

No arrests were made after either assault.

Fearing for his life, Ngo relocated to the UK, but his nine-year-long investigation into Antifa continues.

Anti-fascism arose in response to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini in the 1920s.

In the 1930s, Antifaschistische Aktion (Antifascist Action), a militant group that functioned as the violent wing of Germany’s Communist Party, gave the modern Antifa movement its nickname.

The organization is known for using political violence against its opponents, whom it routinely labels as fascists.

President Donald Trump designated the group a domestic terrorist organization in an executive order signed on Sept. 22.

“Antifa is a militarist, anarchist enterprise that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and our system of law,” the order reads. “It uses illegal means to organize and execute a campaign of violence and terrorism nationwide to accomplish these goals.”

Trump signed another order on Sept. 25 following a shooting at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Alvarado, Texas. In the order, the president directed federal agencies to counter domestic terror and political violence.

It states that violent left-wing activists have caused numerous deaths, injuries, and more than $2 billion in property damage.

On multiple occasions in Northern California and Portland, Oregon, over the past five years, Antifa rioters wearing all black, with their faces covered, have harassed reporters, photographers, and camera crews working for The Epoch Times and its sister media outlet NTD.

Looking for Solutions

Trump held a roundtable discussion, which included Ngo, at the White House on Oct. 8 to brainstorm how best to dismantle Antifa.

Stopping the flow of resources to the group is a priority, according to the president, who said investigations are underway to follow the money.

Funding mechanisms are complicated, according to Ngo, as Antifa benefits from grants, collaboration with some nongovernmental organizations, and crowdsourcing.

Suggestions from the panel to disrupt the group’s activities included charging suspects with federal crimes, where applicable, to reduce the burden on state and local law enforcement.

The use of racketeering and conspiracy charges, which carry heavier penalties than lower-level felony and misdemeanor crimes, could also disincentivize mob behavior, Ngo said.

He highlighted a case from San Diego, in which 11 suspects were convicted of criminal conspiracy for their role in a 2021 Pacific Beach Antifa riot, as a potential role model for future prosecutions. He urged the federal government to use similar strategies.

In that case, investigators discovered that rioters were using encrypted messages to communicate and aliases to disguise their identities.

Shadowy Systems

The group operates loosely with no official hierarchy or organizational structure, posing challenges to law enforcement.

“It’s going to be very, very difficult,” Ngo said.

Seemingly high levels of coordination are the result of loosely assembled vast networks, according to him.

“It’s meant to appear as if there is no organization, but they are organized,” Ngo said, emphasizing the coordination he has seen over the years as identically dressed activists have appeared together, wreaked havoc, and disappeared as one.

During one wave of protests, thousands of such activists gathered nightly with a line of mothers in front of them to give the illusion that the protests were entirely peaceful, according to Ngo.

Radical extremists in the back of the group pointed lasers in the eyes of police and counterprotesters, assaulted innocent victims, and destroyed property, he said.

Of particular concern to Ngo was the narrative presented by some media outlets in the days after the riots. This narrative paid no attention to the violence of the extremists or their destructive behavior.

A disconnect between the reality on the ground and the media’s depiction allowed Antifa to further spread its message among the general public, according to Ngo.

Social media, memes, graffiti, and street art are standard methods of spreading propaganda and generating support for the group.

“It’s more so ideological cross-pollination, which is actually very important to the agendas and goals of the violent militant left,” Ngo said. “They have to build a coalition.”

Members are instructed on how to destroy evidence. Arrests are encouraged, as they often lead to substantial payouts for those detained.

“If you live in a liberal jurisdiction, it’s likely that your city has settled very large amounts to rioters who were arrested in 2020, and before that as well, but particularly from 2020,” Ngo said.

The International Anti-Fascist Defense Fund stated that it has spent more than $250,000 on legal and other aid to more than 800 “anti-fascists” in 26 countries, including the United States.

Ngo said civil problems are plaguing America, citing the general public’s defense of Antifa rioters and disparaging or celebratory comments made after the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.

“It was indicative to me that there was something going on in American society that was really quite sick, and that these acts of violence are not isolated,” Ngo said.

“People felt supportive of these violent rioters who beat up, attacked, maimed, and injured and destroyed the lives of fellow citizens for having different political views, and the ease … [with which] the mainstream left … [labels] political opponents as fascists was really disturbing to me.”

Overcoming Challenges

The freedom-loving journalist said that despite years of death threats and physical abuse, he rejected advice from mentors to stop focusing on Antifa.

“I pursue this beat because I love America,” said Ngo, the son of refugee parents who fled communism in Vietnam.

“I felt I had an obligation to … just go out and record the videos and just let people see what was happening.”

He warned of the group’s destructive ideology that aims to “become ungovernable” and pointed to the group’s multiple failed attempts over the past five years to establish autonomy in city centers, including the notorious “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” in Seattle in 2020, as evidence that the public is ill-informed about its policies and intentions.

“Their ultimate goal is to destroy everything,” Ngo said. “And if people want to see how they envision their society, look at … the autonomous zones that they set up.”

He thanked Trump for prioritizing the dissolution of Antifa, a sharp turnaround from the stance of President Joe Biden’s administration.

“We’ve seen a lot of violence,” Ngo said. “We’ve been subjected to violence, and for a long time, it fell on deaf ears.”

A previous version of this article misstated the timing of one of the violent attacks on Ngo by rioters. The Epoch Times regrets the error.