News broke on the 28th of May that journalist Andy Ngo, famed for his coverage of the violence perpetrated by far-leftist organization Antifa, may have been assaulted once more while undercover during the latest wave of unrest in Portland, Oregon. It has since been confirmed that the man suspected of being mistaken for Ngo was, in fact, Ngo himself. This confirmation comes straight from the source:
Ngo’s re-engagement in this kind of undercover work has been met with mixed reactions; ranging from support from his followers with admiration for his work to criticism for putting himself in harm’s way, as well as the obligatory glee from Antifa goons that relish his pain. According to Ngo, while he was visiting Portland once again – apparently under the auspices of caring for his elderly parents – he wanted to gain new insight into the terrorist group’s activities for a follow-up to his best-seller “Unmasked : Inside Antifa’s Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy”. He was found out, beaten, chased, and forced to take refuge in a hotel that was, at most, hesitant to help him with a mob beating on the doors and windows.
Antifa, of course, being the law in Portland.
What is striking about Ngo’s admission on the attack is that he, apparently, considers himself little more than a “beat journalist”; as if his nearly 1 million followers on Twitter alone say nothing of his extensive work.
He says – “When I engaged in field reporting for my book, I did what every beat reporter would do: I took care to mitigate the risks and went to observe Antifa first-hand during a demonstration at the Justice Center. Like many other journalists Antifa has tried to silence and intimidate through violence and threats, I had to cover my face and eyes to do my job and stay alive. As the Asian son of Vietnamese immigrants, I also have to be mindful of Antifa’s attacks on multiple people of East Asian origin.”
Considering that there are few legitimate journalists willing and/or able to pursue the kind stories sought out by Ngo, and, again, considering his very sizable following and infamy among the terror-group, Antifa, how can Ngo think of himself as a simple beat reporter? In the interest of ensuring that vital information makes its way into the public consciousness, would it not be better for Ngo to man his accounts and attain information from sources on the group that are less well-known? Were something far more tragic to occur, as Antifa has routinely threatened, the voice that so many rely upon for important news would be lost.
It is the opinion of this writer that Andy Ngo has a much too low appreciation for himself and his work. While there was a time when he could document chaos in the streets without raising suspicion, that time has passed. When he goes out into a situation that is dangerous enough without being actively searched for by the rioters, it could be his last time. For the sake of the stories yet to come, why not permit a new generation of journalists to gain that experience and do the legwork?
They’d be learning from the best, after all.
