Superman had to deal with Bizarro World, a place in which everything is backward and evil is ascendant, and Andy Ngo has to contend with Portland, which pretty much seems to be the same. The latest travesty is that, after the judge heard Andy Ngo’s case against an Antifa activist whom Ngo filmed throwing a liquid at him and grabbing his phone, the judge not only gave the activist a pass, but the judge also scolded Ngo for daring to report Antifa activities.

Most people who followed Antifa’s activities in Portland, whether leftists or conservatives, are familiar with Andy Ngo. At great risk to himself, he reported what the Antifa gang was doing, whether silencing conservative speech, going to war against the city, state, and federal government in Portland, or physically attacking conservatives, including Ngo himself. In every case, Ngo has always had the video to prove that these attacks were real.

Was just assaulted & had my phone stolen at @24hourfitness Hollywood Portland by someone I recognize at Antifa rallies. He first dumped liquid on me then stole my phone. Reporting to @PortlandPolice. I don’t know his identity & gym wouldn’t tell me. They got my phone back. pic.twitter.com/51GaBS7gZW

— Andy Ngô рџЏіпёЏ‍рџЊ€ (@MrAndyNgo) May 7, 2019

In May 2019, Ngo filmed John Hacker, an Antifa member, who threw a liquid at Ngo, threatened Ngo’s property, and then seized that property, returning it only when gym members implored him to do so:

The encounter at the gym was recorded by Ngo on his cell phone more than three years ago, and was finally played in court. The shaky video is less than 30 seconds long, but prosecutors say it’s a key piece of evidence showing Hacker approaching Ngo, grabbing the device, and yelling, ”I will break your f*cking phone.”

With the video in place, that ought to have been a slam dunk. Instead, following a bench trial, the judge concluded that the prosecutor had failed to show intent and that Ngo was just as much at fault as Hacker. What appeared to have moved the judge was the way Hacker’s defense attorney made Ngo responsible for being attacked (aka “victim shaming”):

Hacker says he never intended to steal Ngo’s phone. Defense attorney Benjamin Scissors with law firm Mark C Cogan PC says his client grabbed the phone as a precautionary measure.

“Mr. Hacker had reasons to not want to be recorded by Mr. Ngo,” said Scissors, who cross-examined Ngo, accusing him of weaponizing his massive social media following. “Which left an impression on Mr. Hacker about Mr. Ngo’s ability to target people online,” said Scissors. 

When the judge determined that Hacker didn’t really mean to attack Ngo and steal his phone, he also turned on Ngo himself:

After Judge Eric Dahlin delivered the verdict, he offered both men some advice in regards to their social media activity. 

 “If anyone is interested in actually making positive changes to society, I would ask that you all examine your own methods, and ask yourselves are these methods that I’m using helpful. Is it actually making a positive impact?”

(Hacker has been absolved of wrongdoing, so the rest of the discussion in this post speaks in general terms about Antifa, crime, and the judge’s opinion, without in any way accusing Hacker of engaging in criminal conduct.)

The judge, no doubt, felt himself to be a leftist Solomon, wisely distributing justice. Of course, Solomon, when he announced that he would split the baby was wise because he knew that the real mother would never allow her baby to be killed. The judge is a fool, who equates recording actual crimes committed in the public sphere (as Ngo has been doing since Antifa emerged on the scene) with actionable criminal activity. In his court, committing a crime and reporting the crime to the public (which is what the American media have done for more than 200 years) have the same moral weight.

What you have witnessed with this story is the left’s effective use of the “stochastic terrorism” label. Under this rubric, if conservatives such as Andy Ngo, Libs of TikTok, Matt Walsh, or the writers here at American Thinker publish an entirely factual report that reflects badly on leftists, they have committed “stochastic terrorism” by creating the circumstances in which leftists might pay a price for their dangerous or illegal activities.

So far, the left has relied on the stochastic terrorism label primarily to silence conservative reporting on leftist activities. However, with his closing speech to Hacker and Ngo, this judge just indicated to leftists that it may become a perfect legal defense for their future criminal activity.

Portland is a form of Bizarro World, but we’ve seen from the 2022 election results that the younger generation has bought into leftist theology hook, line, and sinker. Expect to see what happened there extend to other jurisdictions.

Image: John Hacker. Twitter screen grab.