Right-wing writer Andy Ngo was awarded $300,000 in a lawsuit ruling Tuesday after three individuals accused of assaulting him ignored the hearing, resulting in a default ruling.
Ngo, editor-at-large of the conservative Canadian outlet The Post-Millenial, alleged in the civil suit that he had been assaulted by three people he claimed were members of "Antifa," a catch-all term for a variety of mostly separate and autonomous anti-fascist left-wing political groups. The incident took place at a protest in downtown Portland, Oregon, in late May 2019, purportedly organized by a group called "Rose City Antifa," which Ngo had gone to cover.
The writer alleged that three individuals—Katherine Belyea, Madison Allen, and Joseph Evans—attacked him at the event. Evans, who now goes by the legal name Sammich Overkill Schott-Deputy, was accused of striking Ngo and initiating the confrontation. Allen was accused of hitting him with a sign, while Belyea was accused of throwing a milkshake at him.
By failing to appear for a virtual hearing at the Multnomah County Courthouse Tuesday, Circuit Judge Chanpone Sinlapasai found the three civilly liable for assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, ordering them to pay Ngo a total of $300,000, split evenly between them. A lawyer representing Schott-Deputy attempted to argue, according to Media Entertainment Arts WorldWide, that his client could not appear due to being homeless, and due to the fact that they were serving out other prison sentences when the lawsuit was served, but the judge dismissed the attempt, citing the length of the trial, with the suit being filed initially in 2020.
In a post to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Ngo thanked his legal team and further accused the defendants of "trying to violently silence my First Amendment rights." He also expressed worry that the collection of the $300,000 will be a challenge.
"While it will continue to be a steep uphill battle to collect today's awarded damages given the default defendants' history of evasion, I remain determined to hold Antifa and its members accountable for their violent attacks," he wrote.
Earlier in August, a jury ruled against Ngo in a different civil lawsuit, finding that two left-wing activists were not liable for an attack he sustained at a Portland protest in 2021, Oregon Live reported.
Newsweek reached out to the Multnomah County Court via email for further information.
Critics have contested Ngo and other conservatives' characterization of "Antifa" as a "terrorist organization," noting that it is not a centralized organization, but a loosely affiliated left-wing political movement. Nevertheless, conservatives have continued to allege that the movement and its adherents as major threats to their political interests. Ngo has also been accused in the past of sharing selectively edited videos to inaccurately paint Antifa demonstrators as violent.
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About the writer
Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more
