In its latest decision, the Oregon State Court of Appeals turned down Antifa’s request to stop independent journalist Andy Ngo’s lawsuit against the Rose City Antifa from being amended.
An Antifa member, who is accused of assaulting Ngo at a Portland protest in 2019 appealed a limited judgment denying his special motion to strike and sought review of the court’s order granting the motion for leave to amend his complaint.
“BOOM! Update on my lawsuit against #Antifa: Oregon Court of Appeals denied defendant Benjamin Bolen’s request to stop the lawsuit from being amended (stay tuned for updates). Bolen, an Antifa member who assaulted me, also recently pleaded guilty to assaulting a federal officer,” Ngo tweeted Sunday.
Circuit Court Judge Kathleen Dailey initially denied the rioter’s motion to strike under the Oregon anti-SLAPP statute in December 2020.
“Defendant’s motion asks this court to apply the anti-SLAPP statute to claims of battery, assault, and IIED because of his insistence that he has been misidentified. Because the statute does not cover physical assault as protected conduct, Defendant’s special motion to strike is DENIED in part,” Judge Dailey ruled on Dec. 15, 2020.
The state’s court of appeals upheld this ruling blocking the alleged assaulter’s appeal. “We conclude that the trial court did not err when it concluded that it retained jurisdiction under ORS 19.270(7) to permit respondent to amend the complaint in the manner that it did,”
The assaulter in question here (whose name I will not mention) is a former Portland State University student with a long record of violent behavior.
In 2020, he pled guilty to assaulting a federal police officer outside the Portland Federal courthouse during the famous BLM riots.
Another rioter from this 2019 assault on Ngo, was indicted on a felony charge of “robbery in the third degree” for assaulting Ngo and stealing the reporter’s phone.
In his lawsuit, Ngo is seeking at least $900,000 in damages for assault, battery, emotional distress, and racketeering by those who acted to “suppress Ngo’s journalism through intimidation and violence,” and for “ongoing neurological and health issues,”
“Defendants have sought to suppress independent journalist Ngo’s activities through a coordinated pattern of violent, harassing, and stalking behavior. Defendant Rose City Antifa is an offshoot of Antifa, a group deemed a ‘domestic terrorist group’ by the U.S. government, and widely known for its organized violence and riotous behavior.” According to this lawsuit.
“Ngo, with his persistent reporting, has brought to light many misdeeds of this terrorist organization and is perhaps more responsible than any other American journalist for increasing public awareness of the threat Antifa and its followers pose to public safety. In retaliation for Ngo’s unfavorable coverage, and in an effort to intimidate Ngo from further exposing Antifa’s illegal acts, Defendants have targeted Ngo, including by assaulting and threatening Ngo to the point of causing lasting and significant physical injuries; publicizing private and personal information about the whereabouts of Ngo and his family; and even attempting to break into his family’s home, among a multitude of other threats and acts of violence,”
What do you make of this judgment and Andy Ngo’s reporting? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
