Freelance journalist Andy Ngo has demanded vindication after the Antifa member he claims attacked him and caused him to suffer a brain haemorrhage in 2019 was ordered to pay him $300,000 in damages.
Katherine Belyea, Madison Allen, and Sammich Overkill Schott-Deputy (formerly known as Joseph Evans) are facing damages claims Ngo is seeking for alleged assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, although they have never appeared to answer his accusations against them.
He accused the trio of provoking a mob to attack him, hitting him over the head with a sign and dousing him with milkshakes, which Portland police warned may contain quick-drying concrete.
A viral video shows mobs descending on Ngo during a June 2019 protest.YouTube
Madison Allen (left) Sammich Overkill Schott-Deputy (center), and Katherine Belyea (right) were absent for the hearing — but each was ordered to pay the maximum $100,000 in restitution.@mrandyngo/Twitter
Each was ordered to pay $100,000. “It’s a small vindication after a traumatic experience,” Ngo told The Post. “The judge gave me the full amount he could, and maybe that tells me.”
He said the verdict was a relief because he fought for justice for other Antifa victims.
“I owe it to myself and to all the people who have supported me over the years to pursue justice. I am fighting not only for me, but for many others who have become victims of this violent extremist movement,” he said.
Ngo, who is the author of the 2021 book “Unmasked: Inside Antifa’s Plan to Destroy Democracy,” became known for his on-the-ground coverage of Antifa.
Ngo’s lawsuit alleges one of the defendants threw a milkshake at him.Getty Images
Andy Ngo recently appeared in court, where he claimed Portland Antifa members assaulted him and inflicted emotional distress. Courtesy of Chelly Bouferrache
The Portland native, 36, often goes undercover and infiltrates Antifa ranks, exposing their tactics and live-streaming protests.
“Legacy media… provide either biased or incomplete reporting on the political violence that took place in Portland,” Ngo said. “So I went out and just recorded on my phone because I think it’s important for people to see what’s happening on the streets with their own eyes.”
The decision was announced by Multnomah County Circuit Court judge Chanpone Sinlapasai on Monday. Ngo won the case by default and was granted the full settlement he sought after the three defendants did not respond to the summons and failed to appear in court.
According to her lawsuit, Allen, Belyea, and Schott-Deputy were among a group of attackers who kicked, punched and threw eggs and milkshakes at her during a June 2019 protest. Some of the altercation was caught on video.
The complaint alleges Schott-Deputy was among the first to attack Ngo, sparking more violence. Allen allegedly hit him over the head with a sign, while Belyea threw a milkshake at him.
Defendant Madison Allen was captured on video hitting Ngo over the head with a sign.Andy Ngo v. Rose City Antifa
After the 2019 altercation, Ngo posted a photo of himself in the hospital where he was being treated for a brain bleed. @mrandyngo/Twitter
Ngo was later hospitalized overnight for a subarachnoid brain hemorrhage. He claimed to have sustained brain damage as a result of the altercation.
Schott-Deputy was eventually convicted of a felony for hitting a man in the head with a tool at a protest the same day.
Although he is satisfied with the settlement, Ngo is concerned that it will be “extremely difficult” to get the money.
“For years now we’ve seen documented evidence of many Americans suffering at the hands of so-called Antifa, but none of them have actually filed a civil lawsuit because of this [Antifa] those who lose often do not have their own assets to collect,” he said.
Surveillance footage showing Ngo being attacked outside the hotel was shown during the trial.John Rudoff/Sipa USA
The compensation order comes after Ngo had a disappointing day in court earlier this month, when alleged Antifa members John Colin Hacker and Elizabeth Renee Richter were found not liable in the same civil suit.
Although the complaint alleges the pair were among a mob that removed his mask, hit him in the head, and chased him into a hotel during the 2021 protest, a Portland jury found them not responsible for assault and battery after a weeklong trial. .
“It still surprises me,” Ngo said of the decision. “I froze when the judge read the decision. I think maybe I heard wrong.”
In retrospect, he worries that the chaos during the trial may have swayed the jury, which he says was “pretty scared.” The Oregonian reported multiple disturbances and increased security at the courthouse.
John Hacker was also named in Ngo’s lawsuit but the jury ruled in Hacker’s favor.John Rudoff/Sipa USA
“There are threats online, and there are so-called dangerous people trying to get into the courtroom,” he said. “And unfortunately some of these incidents happened in front of a jury.”
After her report led to several hospitalizations and continued harassment, Ngo left Portland and moved to London earlier this year for her own safety. But he said he’s still in contact with Portland police to keep his family safe.
He said members of Antifa have appeared several times at his mother’s home and workplace, including recently.
“He came here as a refugee after the Vietnam war, and he always thought of America as a very safe place where people’s civil rights were protected,” he said. “I think he is confused now. And he was afraid for himself and for me.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
