ABOVE VIDEO: Footage of Andy Ngo being attacked. Source: Twitter.
Portland-based journalist Andy Ngo has attracted over $120,000 in donations after vision of him being physically assaulted by anti-facist supporters on Saturday went viral.
Vision of Ngo, a contributor to the Australian-founded digital magazine Quilette, being pelted with milkshakes, eggs and silly string as well as being physically hit and kicked was widely circulated on twitter following the incident.
The GoFundMe page claims that Ngo was targeted while “covering the latest paroxysms of left-wing violence” and that funds raised will go towards “help[ing] him continue his invaluable work.”
It surpassed its goal of $50,000 within seven hours of going live.
The incident occurred during a left-leaning counter protest against a ‘patriot rally’ attended by a number of members of far-right political organisation The Proud Boys.
Local media reports that only 30 people turned up to the original rally while approximately 300 anti-protesters attended.
The response online has been mixed. Many people condemn any attack against journalists, including those who work for right-wing outlets.
A number of people have pointed to the irony of the left using violence to protest violence. Others noted how the left's efforts to draw attention to ideas they don't agree with can give oxygen to those things.
Portland police have confirmed that three arrests were made over the weekend for offences including assault on a public safety officer, harassment and disorderly conduct
Five protesters and three police officers were treated by medics for injuries during the protests.
Police also issued a warning that milkshakes that were handed out during the counter-protest allegedly contained a substance similar to quick drying cement.
Before being admitted to hospital with cuts and bruises to his face, Andy Ngo uploaded vision of himself to Twitter recounting the events.
“I just got beat up by the crowd,” Ngo said.
I was in the middle of the street and they stole my GoPro and punched me several times in my face and my head. I’m bleeding.
Ngo’s Twitter bio claims that he is “hated by Antifa” and has been labeled by critics as Islamaphobic over a Wall Street Journal article published last year entitled: “”
He frequently writes about freedom of speech and the clash between the left and right of politics in the progressive city of Portland.
Quilette was launched by Australian writer Claire Lehnman, a former contributor to far-right Canadian outlet Rebel Media, in 2015 in Sydney after she was claimed she was “blacklisted” by Australian media for criticizing feminism.
Although, self-categorised as libretaian leaning, Quilette has been accused by critics of being alt-right - previously running articles such as ‘A MeToo Mob Tried to Destroy My Life as a Poet. This Is How I Survived’ and ‘How Free Speech Dies Online’.
Last year, Gavin McInnes, the founder of the far-right group the Proud Boys, had his visa application rejected by the Home Affairs Department on character grounds.
At the time, 81,000 Australians signed a petition for the government to refuse his entry to the country.
The Proud Boys website states: “I am a Western Chauvinist and I refuse to apologise for creating the modern world.
He had planned to headline a speaking tour of Australia in early 2019.
