Former Vice President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign has finally condemned Antifa’s brutal assault on journalist Andy Ngo in Portland last weekend.
Ngo, an editor for Quillette, was repeatedly punched and kicked by Antifa members while reporting live from a rally organized by the radical group. The attack landed Ngo in the hospital with a brain bleed.
In a statement to the New York Post, the Biden campaign said the Democrat presidential frontrunner “believes violence directed at anyone because of their political opinions is never acceptable, regardless of what those beliefs might be.”
“He believes freedom of expression is fundamental to who we are as Americans, and that Andy Ngo’s attackers should be identified and investigated,” the campaign added.
Earlier this week, longshot White House hopeful Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) condemned the attack and renewed his call for Congress to pass the Journalist Protection Act, a bill that would make it a federal offense to assault a reporter.
“I don’t agree with much of what @MrAndyNgo ever says. 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,” Swalwell wrote on Twitter Tuesday.
The day prior, Andrew Yang expressed concern about the violent incident, tweeting: “I hope @MrAndyNgo is okay. Journalists should be safe to report on a protest without being targeted.”
“I haven’t heard from the [Portland] mayor or any local politicians. Their muted response has been deafening. I thank Yang, Swalwell, and Cruz for their public support,” Ngo told the Post.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell have called on the Department of Justice and FBI to investigate the attack.
Harmeet Dhillon, Ngo’s attorney, has vowed to sue those behind the assault “into oblivion.”