VICTOR JOECKS: White thugs attack a gay journalist of color. Here’s why the mainstream media isn’t interested.
Last weekend, a predominantly white crowd violently attacked a gay minority journalist who was filming a protest march. Even though there was video of the attack, the mainstream media largely ignored the story.
That doesn’t seem to make sense. Even before Donald Trump won the presidential election, the Committee to Protect Journalists declared that a Trump victory would be a “threat to press freedom.” CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta recently published a book titled “The Enemy of the People: A dangerous time to tell the truth in America.”
A mob attacked a journalist in broad daylight and left him bloodied and bruised. It’s all the proof the media need to show that Trump’s demonization of the press is as dangerous as they’d warned.
But the media weren’t interested in the story, however, because the violence didn’t fit that narrative. It was a crowd of leftists who attacked an independent-minded journalist named Andy Ngo.
Ngo is an editor for the website Quillette, which is committed to the free exchange of ideas. Leftists hate Quillette because it won’t censor ideas they find offensive. For the past couple of years, Ngo also has documented the violent behavior of antifa, a decentralized group of radical leftists.
Antifa stands for anti-fascists. In theory, its members are protesting racist groups. In practice, antifa consists of communists and anarchists itching for a fight. Black-clad protestors avoid accountability by cowardly covering their faces with gas masks or bandanas.
But because antifa is associated with the far left, it has many defenders in the mainstream media. In 2017, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo equated antifa to U.S. troops storming the beaches of Normandy. In 2017, NBC ran an article entertaining the idea that antifa violence was “ethical.”
On June 29, Ngo went to an antifa rally in Portland, Oregon. He filmed antifa members as they marched through the streets without a permit. Twice, antifa members threw what appeared to be milkshakes at him. Both times, Ngo reported it to the police, who were standing nearby. Police officers refused to enter the crowd for fear of upsetting the mob that was already breaking the law.
Ngo went back to work filming. Then antifa goons began to punch him in the head. One took his GoPro camera. One kicked him. Others threw eggs and rocks at him. Someone sprayed him with silly string. Ngo says he may have been pepper sprayed as well. The attack left him with a brain bleed. He had to spend a night in the hospital as a result of the attack.
Imagine if this had happened at a Trump rally. It would have been headline news and received 24/7 coverage on cable outlets. The press would have peppered Trump with questions about the attack and demanded he renounce his violent supporters.
But leading Democrat presidential candidates haven’t condemned the attack. Why would they? There’s no evidence mainstream media outlets have even asked them about it. That’s despite Joe Biden calling antifa “courageous” in April.
You could also see the media’s bias when they finally got around to addressing the assault. In a story written three days after the attack, CNN reported Ngo “blames antifa protestors for the attack. CNN has not been able to confirm that those who attacked Ngo were antifa protesters.”
Contrast that with how CNN first reported on Jussie Smollett claiming he was the victim of a hate crime. “‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett was attacked in the early morning hours on Tuesday,” CNN reported.
See the difference? There is a video of antifa dirt bags punching and kicking Ngo. CNN isn’t sure who attacked him. Smollett accuses two white males of identifying him at 2 a.m. in the middle of a polar vortex to commit a hate crime. CNN reports it as fact.
If you want to understand why conservatives despise the mainstream media, just look at what happened to Ngo. The national press has more loyalty to leftist narratives than to a reporter who was assaulted for doing his job.
Victor Joecks’ column appears each Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. Listen to him discuss his columns each Monday at 10 a.m. with Kevin Wall on 790 Talk Now. Contact him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on Twitter.