Incident details
- Updated on
- Date of incident
- May 1, 2019
- Targets
- Andy Ngo (Independent)
- Case number
- 20CV19618
- Case status
- Settled
- Type of case
- Civil
- Assailant
- Private individual
- Was the journalist targeted?
- Yes
Assault
In a screenshot from his video, Andy Ngo is sprayed with a chemical while filming May Day protests in Portland, Oregon.
Oregon journalist wins $300K in lawsuit; assailant in 2019 incident sentenced
Journalist Andy Ngo was awarded $300,000 on Aug. 21, 2023, in a lawsuit against purported anti-fascists who he says assaulted him in Portland, Oregon, in 2019 and 2021.
The suit, filed in June 2020, originally cited assaults Ngo experienced in May and June 2019; it was then significantly amended to focus almost exclusively on a beating he suffered in May 2021.
Ngo said in July 2023 that he reached a settlement with one of the defendants in the 2021 assault case, while a jury later cleared two others of civil liability. Three additional defendants who failed to appear in court were found liable by default and each ordered to pay Ngo $100,000.
Separately, a man who Portland police say assaulted Ngo outside of a bar during a clash between anti-fascists and members of far-right groups in May 2019 was sentenced on May 20, 2021, in connection with the attack.
Ngo was documenting a May Day march in 2019 outside of Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices when an antifa member punched him in the stomach, Ngo told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker at the time.
After the march, Ngo headed to an antifa gathering at a local bar and saw members of far-right groups, including Patriot Prayer, arrive at the bar seemingly to confront antifa members. While Ngo was documenting the violent clash between the two groups, a woman shot what appeared to be bear spray at members of Patriot Prayer and then directly into Ngo’s face.
Ngo reported both assaults to the police. In August 2025, a Portland Police Bureau representative told the Tracker via email that no arrests were made in connection with the punch, but that Ngo was listed as one of five victims for an arrest connected to the clash outside the bar.
Ian A. Kramer, the arrested man, was charged with felony rioting and, in a second case, with second-degree assault, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, attempting to commit a Class B felony, second-degree use of an electrical stun gun, tear gas or mace, and second-degree disorderly conduct.
In May 2021, Kramer pleaded guilty to felony rioting, second-degree assault and one count of unlawful use of a weapon. The rest of the charges were dismissed. He was sentenced to five years of supervised probation and 20 months in prison, already served.
Kramer earned an early discharge on Nov. 29, 2023, according to court records.
A 2019 Vox explainer article outlines the history between Ngo, the Proud Boys and antifa, and how Ngo is considered by some to be more of a provocateur than journalist. Ngo has faced significant criticism in the past from activists, who say that his coverage — particularly his posting of arrestees’ mug shots to social platform X, then Twitter — spurs death threats and harassment.
For the purposes of the Tracker, Ngo identifies as a journalist, has a track record of publication and said he was in the process of documenting a public event when he was attacked.
Editor’s note: This incident has been updated to include details about the arrest and sentencing of Ian Kramer.
Conservative writer sues for damages claiming targeted assault, intimidation campaign
Conservative writer Andy Ngo filed a lawsuit on June 4, 2020, against purported members of the left-wing group antifa following assaults carried out against him in the summer of 2019.
The suit names five individuals as well as the loosely organized Rose City Antifa, alleging that in addition to the assaults at protests on May 1 and June 29, demonstrators have targeted his family home, his mother’s business and him during daily life. Following the June attack, Ngo was also diagnosed with a brain injury and held overnight, the lawsuit claims.
The Associated Press reported that Ngo is seeking $900,000 in damages on charges of assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Andy Ngo, who identifies as an independent journalist and photographer, says he was sprayed with bear repellent and assaulted while recording during a May Day protest and its aftermath in Portland, Oregon.
Ngo, who primarily publishes his videos on Twitter and YouTube, says he was documenting rising tensions between members of antifa, who had scheduled a gathering at local bar Cider Riot, and members of far-right groups, including Patriot Prayer, who arrived at the bar seemingly to confront antifa members.
When he arrived in front of the bar at approximately 7:30 p.m., Ngo told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that members of antifa who had covered their faces with bandanas and masks started shouting, “Camera! Camera!” Ngo said that the antifa protesters were familiar with him and his work, as he has been covering antifa critically since November 2016.
While standing outside, Ngo said he was approached by a woman from the antifa side who said that she had applied for a job at his mother’s flower shop and a man who recited the shop’s address, which Ngo said felt like a pointed threat.
Patriot Prayer members arrived at the bar shortly after.
“[The two groups] were standing at the bar and across the street yelling at each other and eventually it did become physical,” Ngo said. “There was a brawl that involved what looked like pepper spray, mace and bear mace being sprayed, back-and-forth objects being thrown—glasses, bottles—and things were hitting cars and breaking on the ground.”
About 10 minutes after he arrived, Ngo said he noticed that the interaction was becoming very hostile and decided to move a bit further back.
“I stood behind a van that was on the street and peeked around the corner with my camera,” Ngo told the Tracker. “And then a masked individual ran from the property of the bar and sprayed the chemical directly in my face.”
In his video of the incident, a woman wearing sunglasses and a bandana covering her face can be seen coming from the opposite side of the van spraying what appears to be bear spray at members of Patriot Prayer before turning and spraying Ngo directly.
Ngo told the Tracker that the chemical burned his skin and eyes, and he had to be led across the street by a woman nearby to sit down. “I could still hear the fight and it sounded like it was getting closer and closer to me,” Ngo said. “The people around me said, ‘You’ve got to go, you’ve got to go now.’” Struggling to open his eyes, Ngo said he went to the nearest establishment, a wine bar, to use their restroom to wash what was left of the spray.
At approximately 8:20 p.m., he called the police non-emergency line to report the incident. Ngo said the operator informed him that all available officers were currently engaged in policing the riot, and that no one would be available to take his statement for several hours. Ngo returned home, and just after 11 p.m. an officer came by to take his statement.
This was not the only incident Ngo reported to the police that day: He told the Tracker that he was punched while he was covering a protest earlier on that day, which he reported to officers at the scene. Ngo told the Tracker that protesters had recognized him when he arrived at a publicly announced protest just after noon.
“Immediately, they were hostile to me, although I’ve come to expect that,” Ngo said. “The ones that knew me flipped me off and cursed at me. The ones who didn’t know me went up to me and said, ‘I don’t give you permission to record me.’ I didn’t respond to that: it was in a public park.”
At approximately 2:20 p.m. a man with his face covered and wearing sunglasses approached Ngo and sprayed his camera with silly string. An Oregonian reporter stepped between them, admonishing the man and prevented him from spraying Ngo or his gear further.
It was shortly after, as the protesters’ march stopped in front of Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices at around 2:45 p.m., that Ngo says an antifa protester punched him in the stomach.
In an email, a Portland Police Bureau public information officer said that the investigations into the two assaults reported by Ngo are ongoing and therefore the bureau cannot provide comment or details.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
