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Andy Ngo

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Andy Ngo
Ngo speaking at an event in Washington, D.C.
Born
Andy Cuong Ngo

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

Andy Cuong Ngo (born c. 1986) is a conservative American journalist[2][3] best known for covering street protests in Portland, Oregon. He has written columns in The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and National Review, amongst others, and is an editor for Quillette. Ngo received national attention in June 2019 when he was assaulted by antifa protesters[who?] while covering their counter protest to a Proud Boys march in Portland.

Early life and education

Ngo was born and raised in Portland, Oregon.[1] His parents immigrated from Vietnam by boat in 1978.[1] While attending the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Ngo volunteered with AmeriCorps.[4] 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.[5] After college, Ngo came out as gay while visiting cousins in rural Vietnam.[4]

In 2015, Ngo began graduate studies in political science at Portland State University (PSU), with research interests in secularism and political Islam.[1][6][5]

Career

Ngo is a writer and an editor at Quillette.[7][8][9][10] In May 2017, Ngo began an outreach internship with the Center for Inquiry, a nonprofit humanist educational organization.[11] Joseph Bernstein from BuzzFeed News said that "Ngo’s work is probably best described as media activism", part a "new generation" of “busybody” journalists, and that he engages in "participant reporting".[5] Max Read cites Ngo as an example of "busybody journalism" and distinguishes it from experiential journalism by its opposition to journalistic institutions and processes such as fact-checking. [12]

The Vanguard

Ngo first drew national attention in 2017 when he was fired from the Portland State University (PSU) student newspaper The Vanguard.[13][1] 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".[14] According to the editor of The Vanguard, the incident ended up receiving little 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][13][14]

Later work

On August 29, 2018, Ngo wrote an op-ed titled "A Visit to Islamic England" for The Wall Street Journal. In the article, Ngo concluded that Muslim communities constitute London's "failed multiculturalism". He also falsely connected alcohol-free zones in parts of London to the Muslim-majority populations. Ngo was accused of Islamophobia and issued a correction to the article. He said he wrote the op-ed because in London in 2006, he "[had frozen], confused and intimidated by the faceless figures"[15] of women wearing the niqab.[13][16][17] 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.[18] Steve Hopkins from the Huffington Post stated that "some of his [Ngo's] assertions have already been disproved".[19]

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).[5]

Confrontations with antifascist activists

Ngo has labelled several journalists, including Shane Burley and Alexander Reid Ross, as "antifa ideologues" who mainstream "extremist ideas"; subsequently, those journalists received death threats and were victims of online harassment and were targeted by far-right groups, including fans of the neo-Nazi Atomwaffen Division.[20] According to Vox's Zack Beauchamp, Ngo has also doxed at least one political activist by publishing her full name. In addition, according to Jacobin, friends of two activists said that they had to go into hiding after Ngo revealed their names because they became subjects of harrassment.[21][22] Connor Smith, a Portland DSA member, has acused Ngo of recording and publishing a sign-in sheet with names of members of the organisation during one of their events, and claimed that as a result he received threatening messages.[22]

Ngo has investigated what he calls illiberal reactions to college freedoms.[23] In February 2018, Ngo and his student group Freethinkers of PSU invited 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. 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]."[24][25][23][14]

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.[non sequitur][26][27][23]

In November 2018, Ngo live-streamed the antifeminist #HimToo Rally by a Patriot Prayer member in downtown Portland, and was sprayed with silly string by antifa protesters.[28][29][30] Ngo subsequently blamed Democratic officials who he said largely "share similar goals and sympathies" as antifa, for not preventing violence and "[viewing] it through a partisan lens".[28]

In May 2019, Ngo was pepper-sprayed by an antifascist activist while videotaping protests in Portland. This occurred amid clashes between antifa and the far-right group Patriot Prayer.[31]

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 antifa protesters,[32][5] and who threw milkshakes at him.[33][34] He walked away and reported what happened in a livestream, during which a medic arrived to check on him.[35] 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.[36][37][21][38]

Ngo's attorney wrote that Ngo was subsequently taken to hospital for cerebral hemorrhaging. Joseph Bernstein, writing for Buzzfeed News, wrote that Ngo had sent him a copy of his discharge paperwork from the hospital showing that he had suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage.[5] Ngo retained attorney Harmeet Dhillon to investigate the response of the Portland Police Bureau.[39] Texas Senator Ted Cruz called on federal authorities to investigate Ted Wheeler, Portland's mayor, who is also the city's police commissioner.[10][40] Democratic Party presidential candidate Andrew Yang wished Ngo a speedy recovery.[10] Former Vice President and Democratic Party presidential candidate Joe Biden and then-candidate Eric Swalwell also condemned the attack.[41]

Religious and political views

Raised in a Buddhist family, Ngo began attending an evangelical Christian church in high school. He left the religion in 2009.[11]

Ngo has been widely described as a conservative, although he does not describe himself as such.[2][3][7][8][13][26] According to journalist Cathy Young, he is right-of-center.[27] 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".[42]

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 Griffin, Anna (February 8, 2018). "For Immigrants' Son, Vietnam Trip Led To More Conservative Worldview". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d e f 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.
  6. ^ Ngo, Andy (September 6, 2017). "The Challenge of Freethinking Among Nonbelievers". Center for Inquiry. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  7. ^ a b Williams, Kale (June 30, 2019). "Portland mayor, police come under fire after right-wing writer attacked at protest". oregonlive.com. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  8. ^ a b Quinn, Allison (June 30, 2019). "Conservative Writer Andy Ngo Attacked at Portland Rally". The Daily Beast. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  9. ^ Andy Campbell (July 1, 2019). "Far-Right Extremists Wanted Blood In Portland's Streets. Once Again, They Got It". HuffPost. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ a b "Announcing our 2017 Outreach interns, Vicki Smith and Andy Ngo". Center for Inquiry. May 11, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  12. ^ Read, Max (August 31, 2018). "The Rise of Busybody Journalism". Intelligencer. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  13. ^ a b c d Herzog, Katie (December 7, 2018). "Anti-Racist Protesters Harass Gay Asian-American Journalist". The Stranger. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  14. ^ a b c Wilson, Jason (March 18, 2018). "How to troll the left: understanding the rightwing outrage machine". The Guardian. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  15. ^ Ngo, Andy. "Opinion | A Visit to Islamic England". WSJ. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  16. ^ Read, Max (August 31, 2018). "The Rise of Busybody Journalism". New York. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  17. ^ Malvern, Jack (September 1, 2018). "Drinking rules leave US writer dazed". The Times. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ Hopkins, Steve (August 30, 2018). "'Islamic England' Wall Street Journal Column Slammed By Tower Hamlets Council And Campaigners". www.huffingtonpost.co.uk. Huffington Post. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ a b Zack Beauchamp (July 3, 2019). "The assault on conservative journalist Andy Ngo, explained". Vox.
  22. ^ a b Arun Gupta (August 16, 2019). "Portland's Andy Ngo Is the Most Dangerous Grifter in America". Jacobin.
  23. ^ a b c Moore, Shasta Kearns (March 7, 2018). "Conservative feminist shouted down at Lewis & Clark". Portland Tribune. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  24. ^ Parke, Caleb (February 14, 2018). "Antifa targets 'Google memo' author James Damore's talk at Portland State". Fox News. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  25. ^ Shepherd, Katie (February 17, 2018). "No Violence, Brief Disruption as Fired Google Engineer Speaks at Portland State University". Willamette Week. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  26. ^ a b Uyehara, Mari (March 19, 2018). "The Free Speech Grifters". GQ. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  27. ^ a b Young, Cathy (April 19, 2019). "Rise of the Notre Dame Truthers". The Bulwark. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  28. ^ a b Manchester, Julia (November 19, 2018). "Democratic politicians in 'difficult position' in handling Antifa, says journalist". The Hill. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  29. ^ Sparling, Zane (November 18, 2018). "6 arrested, released during Saturday protest in Portland". Portland Tribune. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  30. ^ Prestigiacomo, Amanda (November 19, 2018). "WATCH: Female antifa Punches, Spits On Conservative Demonstrators. It Doesn't End Well For Her". The Daily Wire. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  31. ^ Wallace, Danielle (May 2, 2019). "Antifa, far-right groups clash outside Portland bar after 'peaceful' May Day protests". Fox News. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  32. ^ Dearden, Lizzie (June 30, 2019). "Antifa attack conservative blogger Andy Ngo amid violence at Portland Proud Boys protest". The Independent. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  33. ^ "Far-Right Extremists Wanted Blood In Portland's Streets. Once Again, They Got It". HuffPost. July 1, 2019.
  34. ^ "Portland antifa/right wing protests escalate to civil disturbance". Oregonian/OregonLive. June 29, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  35. ^ Mike Baker (July 2, 2019). "Portland mayor faces impeachment calls after antifa assault and milkshaking of right-wing blogger Andy Ngo". The Guardian.
  36. ^ 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.
  37. ^ Sparling, Zane (June 30, 2019). "Police: 3 arrested, 8 need medical care after street brawl". Portland Tribune. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  38. ^ 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.
  39. ^ Melanie Woodrow (July 1, 2019). "Portland journalist Andy Ngo speaks out, says antifa behind attack". KGO-TV. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  40. ^ 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.
  41. ^ "Will other Dems join Biden in condemning antifa violence?". New York Post. July 7, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  42. ^ "Joe Rogan Experience #1323 - Andy Ngo". July 10, 2019. Event occurs at 33:01–33:16. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
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