Elections

Swalwell, Yang Leave Antifa Out Of Their Remarks On Vicious Andy Ngo Attack

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Rachel Stoltzfoos Staff Reporter
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Two Democratic candidates have addressed the antifa assault on journalist Andy Ngo, but neither of them condemned antifa or even named the group in their remarks.

Entrepreneur Andrew Yang was the first Democrat to remark on the attack, which left Ngo in the hospital on Saturday night with a brain bleed. Yang expressed support for Ngo and said reporters should not be attacked, but he did not mention antifa. (RELATED: ‘When I thought It Was Over, I Was Wrong’: Andy Ngo Describes Brutal Antifa Attack)

“I hope [Ngo] is okay,” he tweeted Monday. “Journalists should be safe to report on a protest without being targeted.”

A day after Yang’s tweet, and several days following the attack, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell also weighed in. He sits on the House Intelligence Committee. Swalwell said Ngo’s “attackers” should be prosecuted, but did not mention antifa.

“I don’t agree with much of what [Ngo] ever says,” he tweeted Tuesday. “But that’s not the point. He should not be harmed for his views and his attackers should be prosecuted. And Congress should pass my Journalist Protection Act, which makes it a federal crime to assault or batter a journalist.”

Yang and Swalwell are both long shots for the nomination at this point.

None of the other Democrats running for president have commented on the attack, while many liberal journalists and activists cast Ngo as a provocateur who is ultimately to blame for the attack. Ngo was filming antifa activity in Portland, Oregon, when they threw milkshakes (possibly containing a cement mixture) and then punched him repeatedly in the face.