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'''Andy Cuong Ngo''' (born {{circa|1986}}) is an American conservative social media personality and journalist{{Disputed inline|Journalist|date=August 2019}}<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /> best known for covering street protests in [[Portland, Oregon]]. He is editor at large of The Post Millennial, a Canadian conservative news website. Ngo received national attention in June 2019 when he was assaulted by unidentified assailants who appeared to be [[Antifa (United States)|Antifa]] protesters while covering a counter protest to a [[Proud Boys]] march in Portland, and later due to alleged connections with the far-right groups [[Patriot Prayer]] and [[Proud Boys]]. He has been accused of using selectively edited videos to paint antifascist activists as violent, and to underplay the violence of the far-right.
'''Andy Cuong Ngo''' (born {{circa|1986}}) is an American conservative social media personality and journalist{{Disputed inline|Journalist|date=August 2019}}<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /> best known for covering street protests in [[Portland, Oregon]]. He is editor at large of The Post Millennial, a Canadian conservative news website. Ngo received national attention in June 2019 when he was assaulted by unidentified assailants who appeared to be [[Antifa (United States)|Antifa]] protesters while covering a counter protest to a [[Proud Boys]] march in Portland, and later due to alleged connections with the far-right groups [[Patriot Prayer]] and [[Proud Boys]].


== Early life and education ==
== Early life and education ==

Revision as of 22:20, 24 January 2020

Andy Ngo
Ngo in 2019
Born
Andy Cuong Ngo

1986 or 1987 (age 37–38)[1]
Portland, Oregon, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater

Andy Cuong Ngo (born c. 1986) is an American conservative social media personality and journalist[disputed – discuss][2][3] best known for covering street protests in Portland, Oregon. He is editor at large of The Post Millennial, a Canadian conservative news website. Ngo received national attention in June 2019 when he was assaulted by unidentified assailants who appeared to be Antifa protesters while covering a counter protest to a Proud Boys march in Portland, and later due to alleged connections with the far-right groups Patriot Prayer and Proud Boys.

Early life and education

Ngo was born and raised in Portland, Oregon.[1] His parents immigrated from Vietnam by boat in 1978.[1] Raised in a Buddhist family, Ngo began attending an evangelical Christian church in high school. He subsequently became an atheist[4] and was strongly against organized religion, which was reflected in his social media activity in the form of "inflammatory language"; however he says that language does not reflect his current beliefs.[5][6]

While attending the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Ngo volunteered with AmeriCorps.[7] He graduated from UCLA in 2009 with a graphic design degree, but found it hard to find a job, so he had period of unemployment and worked as a photographer at a used car dealership and in various minimum wage jobs.[4] After college, Ngo came out as gay while visiting cousins in rural Vietnam.[7]

In 2015, Ngo began graduate studies in political science at Portland State University (PSU), with research interests in secularism and political Islam.[1][8][4]

Career

Several media outlets, including The Oregonian and The Rolling Stone, have described him as a "right-wing provocateur".[9][10][11][12][13][14] Joseph Bernstein from BuzzFeed News said that "Ngo’s work is probably best described as media activism", and that Ngo is part a "new generation" of “busybody” journalists, and that he engages in "participant reporting".[4] Max Read cites Ngo as an example of "busybody journalism" and distinguishes it from experiential journalism by its "focus on the individual reporter's feelings." Read says that such journalists have given up on institutions such as magazines and newspapers, and, by giving up on them, they have also given up on editorial processes like fact-checking.[15]

In May 2017, Ngo began an outreach internship with the Center for Inquiry, a nonprofit humanist educational organization.[16]

The Vanguard

Ngo first drew national attention in May 2017 after he was fired from the Portland State University (PSU) student newspaper The Vanguard.[17][1][18] His dismissal as multimedia editor was in reaction to a Breitbart News report that Ngo had tweeted on his personal account a video clip of a Muslim student on an interfaith panel stating that in some Muslim countries, the punishment for apostasy is death or banishment.[1] While not reporting for The Vanguard at the time, his tweet paraphrased the Muslim student's remark in a way the newspaper's student editor considered to be "a half-truth", and inciting a reaction.[1] Colleen Leary, Vanguard's editor, also disputed Ngo's claim that the dismissal was motivated by previous campus controversies over Ngo's work.[1]

Ngo later wrote an op-ed for the National Review titled "Fired for Reporting the Truth". He also engaged in online discussions about the incident and on the pro-Trump subreddit /r/The_Donald he called the firing part of a "trend towards self-censorship in the name of political correctness".[19] According to the editor of The Vanguard, the incident did not receive much attention on campus. A student who was on the panel disputed Leary's claim that Ngo had incorrectly paraphrased the Muslim student, but the Muslim student said, "I thought I would feel proud after putting something like this [panel] together. Not feel like this."[1][17][19]

Later work

In March 2018, Ngo filmed protests and a disruptive audience when feminist critic Christina Hoff Sommers spoke at the Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland.[20][21][22]

On August 29, 2018, Ngo wrote an op-ed titled "A Visit to Islamic England" for The Wall Street Journal. In the article, Ngo wrote of his experiences in two neighborhoods in East London, including visits to a Mosque and an Islamic center. From these experiences, he concluded that London was afflicted with "failed multiculturalism". He falsely connected alcohol-free zones in parts of London to the Muslim-majority populations. Ngo was accused of Islamophobia[23][17][24][25][26][27] and subsequently issued a correction.[28][17][15][29] Alex Lockie from Business Insider criticized Ngo's article for "fear monger[ing] around England's Muslim population" and cherrypicking evidence, and for mischaracterizing the neighbourhood near the East London Mosque.[30] Steve Hopkins from HuffPost stated that "some of his [Ngo's] assertions have already been disproved".[31]

Ngo started a podcast entitled "Things You Should Ngo", in which he interviewed Jordan Peterson, Dave Rubin and Carl Benjamin (who uses the pen name "Sargon of Akkad" online).[4]

Until August 2019,[32] Ngo was a writer and sub-editor at Quillette.[23][33][34][35][36]

As of November 2019, Ngo is editor-at-large of The Post Millennial[37][failed verification], a conservative Canadian news website.[38]

Confrontations with Antifa activists

Ngo has labelled several journalists, including Shane Burley and Alexander Reid Ross, as "antifa ideologues" and claimed that they mainstream "extremist ideas"; subsequently, those journalists received death threats and were victims of online harassment and were targeted by far-right groups, including the neo-Nazi Atomwaffen Division.[39] According to Vox's Zack Beauchamp, Ngo has also doxed at least one political activist by publishing her full name.[40] He has also been accused of using selectively edited videos to paint antifascist activists as violent, and to underplay the violence of the far-right.[41][42][10][43][44][45]

Ngo has investigated what he calls illiberal reactions he claims threaten college freedoms.[22] In February 2018, Ngo and his student group Freethinkers of PSU invited former Google engineer James Damore, the author of a Google diversity memo, to speak on the campus. According to Ngo, his group was threatened with violence and were intimidated by antifa protesters, however this claim has been disputed.[5] He later stated that antifa protesters did not disrupt the event.[5][46] During the event, a portion of the audience walked out in protest against Damore. Ngo filmed the disruption, but said "it [had not been] a plan to get national attention for [himself]."[47][48][22][19]

In November 2018, Ngo live-streamed the #HimToo Rally organized by a Patriot Prayer member in downtown Portland, and was sprayed with silly string by antifascist protesters.[49][50] Ngo said the Democratic politicians are in a difficult position as they have a constituency that "share similar goals and sympathies [as antifa]". Ngo called for "more clarity in their [Democratic] leadership, and to come out against violence, against this type of anarchy, and not view it through a partisan lens as they are currently".[49]

In May 2019, Ngo claimed he was pepper-sprayed by an antifascist activist while recording a fight in Portland. This occurred amid clashes between antifascists and the far-right group Patriot Prayer.[51] Later that year, a video of Ngo surfaced were he is seen laughing, while standing with the members of the far-right group planning the attack on anti-fascist patrons at the bar.[32][52][53][5] He later followed the group to the bar where they allegedly attacked the patrons. The video is part of the court documents in the ongoing lawsuit against Patriot Prayer members for allegedly causing the riot. One of the victims of the attack was knocked unconscious with a baton and suffered a broken vertebrae – Ngo later posted a video of her being attacked and shared her personal information online.[54][40] Portland Mercury quoted an undercover antifascist embedded in Patriot Prayer saying that Andy Ngo has an "understanding" with the far-right group, that the group "protects him and he protects them".[55]

On June 29, 2019, while filming a counter-protest to a Proud Boys march in Portland, Ngo was punched in the head and kicked by unidentified assailants who appeared to be antifascist protesters.[56][57][4] Several unidentified assailants punched, kicked, and threw milkshakes on Ngo.[58][34][59] He walked away and reported what happened in a livestream, during which a medic arrived to check on him.[60] According to the report of a police lieutenant present at the incident, he ‘firmly believed’ the milkshakes that were used contained a ‘form of concrete'; however, no evidence of this has ever been presented.[61][62][40][63]

Ngo's attorney wrote that Ngo was subsequently taken to hospital for cerebral hemorrhaging. Joseph Bernstein, writing for Buzzfeed News, stated that Ngo had sent him a copy of his discharge paperwork from the hospital showing that he had suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage.[4] Ngo retained attorney Harmeet Dhillon to investigate the response of the Portland Police Bureau.[64] Texas Senator Ted Cruz called on federal authorities to investigate Ted Wheeler, Portland's mayor, who is also the city's police commissioner.[35][65] Democratic Party presidential candidate Andrew Yang wished Ngo a speedy recovery.[35] Former Vice President and Democratic Party presidential candidate Joe Biden and then-candidate Eric Swalwell also condemned the attack.[66] Later that year, a recording of an alleged member of Proud Boys emerged, published by Wilamette Week, where the person claimed that Ngo has been in contact with the group and was offered protection during the June 29 protest.[67] The Portland based newspaper stated that "it is increasingly clear he is coordinating his movements and his message with right-wing groups". Buzzfeed News reported that Ngo "has been building to a dramatic confrontation with the Portland far left for months, his star rising along with the severity of the encounters...The man’s literal brand is that anti-fascists are violent and loathe him" and "He is willing to make himself the story and to stream himself doing it. He proceeds from a worldview and seeks to confirm it, without asking to what degree his coverage becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy", pointing out that Ngo even proposed going to "a far-left hangout" during the writing of the profile piece.[4]

On August 26, 2019, The Daily Beast reported that Ngo was leaving Quillette. Earlier in the day, the Portland Mercury covered a video that showed Ngo with members of Patriot Prayer, the far-right group active in Portland, as they planned violence at a bar frequented by left-wing activists.[5][55][68] Ngo, who ultimately blamed the violence on antifascist activists, is alleged to be smiling and laughing at the discussion.[52][41] Some of the people he was with now face felony riot charges. Ngo's name was deleted from Quillette's masthead, and the site from Ngo's twitter feed, at this time.[32] The editor of Quillette, Claire Lehmann, told The Daily Beast that the two developments were not linked and that Ngo had left the website several weeks earlier.[32] On August 30, Spectator USA published an article by Ngo in which he claimed he did not know about the far-right group planning the attack, that he "[only] caught snippets of various conversations" and "was preoccupied on [his] phone", describing the accusations as "lies".[69]

Political views

Ngo has often been described as right-wing and conservative, although he does not describe himself as such.[2][3][23][33][17][20] In July 2019, on an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, host Joe Rogan asked, "if someone had a gun to your head" and he had to pick a political label, what would he choose? Ngo responded, "I think it's fair to describe me as center-right".[70]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Herron, Elise (July 14, 2017). "A Dispute Over a Muslim Student's Remarks Costs a College Journalist His Job, And Brings National Furor to Portland State University". Willamette Week. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Baker, Mike (July 1, 2019). "In Portland, a Punch and a Milkshake Rumor Feed a Fresh Round of Police Criticism". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 2, 2019. ...conservative journalist Andy Ngo...
  3. ^ a b Osborne, Mark (June 30, 2019). "Right-wing protesters clash with anti-fascists as march gets violent". ABC News. Retrieved July 2, 2019. Andy Ngo, a conservative journalist...
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Bernstein, Joseph (July 18, 2019). "Andy Ngo Has The Newest New Media Career. It's Made Him A Victim And A Star". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d e Hannah Gais (September 11, 2019). "The Making of Andy Ngo". Jewish Currents.
  6. ^ Susan Gerbic (December 21, 2016). "Let's Bring More Students To CSICon". Sceptical Inquirer.
  7. ^ a b Griffin, Anna (February 8, 2018). "For Immigrants' Son, Vietnam Trip Led To More Conservative Worldview". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  8. ^ Ngo, Andy (September 6, 2017). "The Challenge of Freethinking Among Nonbelievers". Center for Inquiry. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  9. ^ 1 July 2019. "Vigilantes at large". Washington Times.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ a b Arun Gupta (August 2019). "Portland's Andy Ngo Is the Most Dangerous Grifter in America".
  11. ^ "1 hammer, 1 'antifa mob chase': A closer look at Portland's viral protest moments". The Oregonian. August 19, 2019.
  12. ^ Ej Dickson (August 19, 2019). "Proud Boys Dwarfed by Anti-Fascist Protesters at Portland Rally". The Rolling Stone.
  13. ^ Amy Goodman (August 21, 2019). "Portland rejects proud boys & other ultra-right groups as Trump tries to criminalize Antifa". Nation of Change.
  14. ^ Cockburn (August 29, 2019). "What's Ngext for Ngo?". Spectator.us.
  15. ^ a b Read, Max (August 31, 2018). "The Rise of Busybody Journalism". Intelligencer. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  16. ^ "Announcing our 2017 Outreach interns, Vicki Smith and Andy Ngo". Center for Inquiry. May 11, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  17. ^ a b c d e Herzog, Katie (December 7, 2018). "Anti-Racist Protesters Harass Gay Asian-American Journalist". The Stranger. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  18. ^ "In response to 'Fired for reporting the truth'". Vanguard. May 14, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  19. ^ a b c Wilson, Jason (March 18, 2018). "How to troll the left: understanding the rightwing outrage machine". The Guardian. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  20. ^ a b Uyehara, Mari (March 19, 2018). "The Free Speech Grifters". GQ. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  21. ^ Young, Cathy (April 19, 2019). "Rise of the Notre Dame Truthers". The Bulwark. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  22. ^ a b c Moore, Shasta Kearns (March 7, 2018). "Conservative feminist shouted down at Lewis & Clark". Portland Tribune. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  23. ^ a b c Williams, Kale (June 30, 2019). "Portland mayor, police come under fire after right-wing writer attacked at protest". oregonlive.com. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  24. ^ Shane Burley (August 1, 2019). "We're Being Played". Commune Magazine.
  25. ^ Newser Editors (July 1, 2019). "Assault on Right-Wing Writer Calls Attention to Antifa". Newser. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  26. ^ "US: Far-right blogger attacked during Portland anti-fascist rally". RSF. July 1, 2019.
  27. ^ Andy Ngo (November 9, 2018). "What happened when I wrote about Islam in Britain". Spectator.
  28. ^ Ngo, Andy. "Opinion | A Visit to Islamic England". WSJ. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  29. ^ Malvern, Jack (September 1, 2018). "Drinking rules leave US writer dazed". The Times. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  30. ^ Lockie, Alex (August 31, 2018). "The Wall Street Journal ran a cowardly, race-baiting article on 'Islamic England': I live there. They're dead wrong". www.businessinsider.com. Business Insider. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  31. ^ Hopkins, Steve (August 30, 2018). "'Islamic England' Wall Street Journal Column Slammed By Tower Hamlets Council And Campaigners". HuffPost. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  32. ^ a b c d Sommer, Will (August 27, 2019). "Right-Wing Star Andy Ngo Exits Quillette After Damning Video Surfaces". Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  33. ^ a b Quinn, Allison (June 30, 2019). "Conservative Writer Andy Ngo Attacked at Portland Rally". The Daily Beast. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  34. ^ a b Andy Campbell (July 1, 2019). "Far-Right Extremists Wanted Blood In Portland's Streets. Once Again, They Got It". HuffPost. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  35. ^ a b c Klar, Rebecca (July 1, 2019). "2020 Democrat Andrew Yang sends well-wishes to Andy Ngo: 'Journalists should be safe to report on a protest'". TheHill. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  36. ^ "Portland's Andy Ngo Is the Most Dangerous Grifter in America". jacobinmag.com. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  37. ^ "Twitter suspends journalist Andy Ngo". November 25, 2019.
  38. ^ Canadian news site The Post Millennial blurs line between journalism and conservative 'pamphleteering'. CBC News, June 27, 2019
  39. ^ Shane Burley; Alexander Reid Ross (June 19, 2019). "I was the target of alt-right death threats across the internet – here's what happened next". Independent.
  40. ^ a b c Beauchamp, Jack (July 3, 2019). "The assault on conservative journalist Andy Ngo, explained". Vox. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  41. ^ a b Igor Derysh (August 28, 2019). "Right-wing "journalist" Andy Ngo outed: Video shows him hanging out with far-right hate group". Salon.
  42. ^ Alex Dalbey (August 20, 2019). "Edited videos of Portland protests are telling half-truths". Daily Dot.
  43. ^ Courtney Hagle (August 28, 2019). "Media presented far-right grifter Andy Ngo as a credible journalist. He was just caught covering for far-right extremists as they plan violent attacks". Media Matters for America.
  44. ^ Alaric Dearment (September 3, 2019). "Andy Ngo Is Journalism's Problem". Above the Law.
  45. ^ Oregonian/OregonLive, Grant Butler (December 29, 2019). "Oregon's top 15 newsmakers of 2019". oregonlive. Retrieved January 5, 2020. {{cite web}}: Text "The" ignored (help)
  46. ^ Andy Ngo (January 30, 2017). "Free speech wins: In Portland of all places, Antifa halts plans to shut down 'thought police' talk". The College Fix.
  47. ^ Parke, Caleb (February 14, 2018). "Antifa targets 'Google memo' author James Damore's talk at Portland State". Fox News. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  48. ^ Shepherd, Katie (February 17, 2018). "No Violence, Brief Disruption as Fired Google Engineer Speaks at Portland State University". Willamette Week. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  49. ^ a b Manchester, Julia (November 19, 2018). "Democratic politicians in 'difficult position' in handling Antifa, says journalist". The Hill. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  50. ^ Sparling, Zane (November 18, 2018). "6 arrested, released during Saturday protest in Portland". Portland Tribune. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  51. ^ Wallace, Danielle (May 2, 2019). "Antifa, far-right groups clash outside Portland bar after 'peaceful' May Day protests". Fox News. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  52. ^ a b Sierra Juarez (August 24, 2019). "Andy Ngo seen laughing as Patriot Prayer members plan an attack in newly emerged video". The Daily Dot.
  53. ^ Tyler MacDonald (August 25, 2019). "Andy Ngo Captured On Video With Patriot Prayer As They Reportedly Plan Attack On Antifa". The Inquisitr.
  54. ^ Tess Owen (August 27, 2019). "Super Awkward for Right-Wing Blogger Andy Ngo to Make a Cameo in Video of Plot Against Antifa". VICE News.
  55. ^ a b Zielinski, Alex (August 26, 2019). "Undercover in Patriot Prayer: Insights From a Vancouver Democrat Who's Been Working Against the Far-Right Group from the Inside". Portland Mercury. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  56. ^ Iati, Marisa (July 20, 2019). "Two senators want antifa activists to be labeled 'domestic terrorists.' Here's what that means". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 29, 2019. The senators also pointed to conservative journalist Andy Ngo, who in June was left bloodied by antifa activists in Portland, Ore.
  57. ^ Burns, Dasha; Brooks, Abigail; Ortiz, Erik (August 16, 2019). "Proud Boys rally in Portland is latest test for police". NBC News. Retrieved August 29, 2019. Chaos also broke out during a rally in June, when masked antifa members physically attacked conservative blogger Andy Ngo in an incident shared on social media.
  58. ^ Dearden, Lizzie (June 30, 2019). "Antifa attack conservative blogger Andy Ngo amid violence at Portland Proud Boys protest". The Independent. Retrieved July 1, 2019. "I just got beat up by the crowd," Mr Ngo said.
  59. ^ "Portland antifa/right wing protests escalate to civil disturbance". Oregonian/OregonLive. June 29, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  60. ^ Mike Baker (July 2, 2019). "Portland mayor faces impeachment calls after antifa assault and milkshaking of right-wing blogger Andy Ngo". The Guardian.
  61. ^ Bernstein, Maxine (July 22, 2019). "Police lieutenant 'firmly believed' milkshakes thrown during June protest 'contained some form of concrete'". The Oregonian. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  62. ^ Sparling, Zane (June 30, 2019). "Police: 3 arrested, 8 need medical care after street brawl". Portland Tribune. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  63. ^ Tom Embury-Dennis (July 1, 2019). "Portland police provide no evidence for claim milkshakes thrown at far-right groups contained quick-drying cement". The Independent.
  64. ^ Melanie Woodrow (July 1, 2019). "Portland journalist Andy Ngo speaks out, says antifa behind attack". KGO-TV. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  65. ^ March, Mary Tyler (June 30, 2019). "Cruz calls for 'legal action' against Portland mayor after clash between far-right, antifa protesters". TheHill. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  66. ^ "Will other Dems join Biden in condemning antifa violence?". New York Post. July 7, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  67. ^ Jaquiss, Nigel (August 28, 2019). "Right-Wing Brawlers Discussed a Hammer Fight While Being Filmed". Willamette Week.
  68. ^ Morgan Phillips (August 27, 2019). "Writer Andy Ngo Splits from Conservative Blog Quillette After Damning Video Surfaces". Media ITE.
  69. ^ Andy Ngo (August 30, 2019). "How I became an 'extremist' overnight". Spectator.
  70. ^ "Joe Rogan Experience #1323 - Andy Ngo". July 10, 2019. Event occurs at 33:01–33:16. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
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