20CV19618
Andy Ngo vs. Rose City Antifa et al
This case is a long winding and at times confusing case featuring a broad variety of allegations against a number of individuals and organizations, with events starting in 2019 or earlier. Due to current media order rules, much accurate information from the actual trial is hard to find and this may go through significant revisions as a result.
Initial Complaint
Andy Ngo, former writer for Vanguard and Quillette, currently works as an Editor at Large for Post Millennial, a Canadian media organization. He filed a case alleging assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, as well as claims against Oregon's RICO statutes, requesting $900,000 in damages. The original complaint named Rose City Antifa, Benjamin Bolen, John Hacker, Katherine Belyea, Joseph Evans, Madison Allen and 50 Doe defendants. In the introduction, he claimed that these parties were coordinating to harass, stalk and intimidate him, and that Antifa was declared a 'domestic terrorist group' by the US government (Politico's reporting on this claim suggests that while the federal government did make this determination in 2016, it appears that is was a direct response to increasing threats of right wing extremism, as well as, at worst, it's seen as a disorganized group of cells that sometimes coordinate with each other[1].) The first factual allegation made in this complaint references two op-eds that written to The Hill[2] and Washington Examiner[3] in his claims that Antifa calls for insurrectionary anarchy to overthrow the government. (While The Hill is generally leased biased and mostly factual in it's reporting, Media Bias does not list the op-ed author, James Casey, as one of it's normal opinion writers[4]. Mr. Casey's bio indicates he was a career law enforcement officer, with a specialty in militia, neo-Nazi and anarchist groups. Washington Examiner, however, is rated as as significant right leaning in their content and editorials, with only mixed factual reporting[5]. Their op-ed is attributed to the outlet itself, with no individual writer taking credit.
May 1, 2019
The first individual claim that is made is that John Bolen punched Mr. Ngo in the abdomen at an ICE protest on May Day 2019. Later that day, Mr. Ngo went to Cider Riot!, a since closed bar to document a protest by Patriot Prayer of a gathering of leftists individuals after their planned protests were done for the day. Mr. Ngo noted that the bar was since closed after the hit-and-run killing of anti fascist Sean Kealiher, a case that was still open at the time of the complaint (since then, Portland Police arrested the primary suspect in August of 2022, after OPB reported that records showed PPB purposefully slow walked the investigation, possibly for ideological reasons[6].) Mr. Ngo was allegedly maced by a Doe defendant and fled the scene due to not feeling safe. Many of these details were covered in the subsequent riot charges against a variety of members of Patriot Prayer. Some members took plea deals, some were found guilty, and some cases were dismissed by the judge.
May 7, 2019
The second incident, a week later, were allegations against John Hacker for throwing an 'unknown liquid' onto Mr. Ngo's head and stealing his phone when Mr. Ngo attempted to record him. Several years later, Mr. Hacker was charged with felony theft in the case, and in the case, the 'unknown liquid' turned out to be water, and the 'theft' of the phone was an unplanned action due to Mr. Hacker not feeling safe being filmed by Mr. Ngo, doubly so in a place that had a 'no camera' policy in place. Shortly after Mr. Hacker took the phone, he handed it to gym staff who returned it to Mr. Ngo with no further incident. In the criminal trial, Mr. Ngo admitted that the only damage that day was a crack to his phone case (that he couldn't identify based on police photos of the case). The judge found Mr. Hacker innocent of the charge in the criminal case (it is worth noting the burden of proof is lower in civil cases than criminal cases), but had strong words for both parties about the incident and their actions.
June 29, 2019
On this day Mr. Ngo arguably became world famous for the 'milkshake incident'. At a protest where another organization, PopMob, was handing out vegan milkshakes, a number of people threw their milkshakes at Mr. Ngo. He alleged Katherine Belyea was one such individual. Portland Police had issued a warning on their Twitter account that the milkshakes may have contained quick-drying concrete[7]. Prior investigative reporting showed that the evidence basically came from how one police officers thought the drinks smelled like wet concrete, even though no one drinking them suffered ill effects[8]. Mr. Ngo later claims he was 'mobbed and bloodied' by a group of Rose City Antifa members, listed as Does 21-43 and specifically naming Joseph Evans and Madison Allen as assailants.
After reporting the attack to police at the Central Precinct, he went to OHSU, where he alleged he was diagnosed with a 'subarachnoid brain hemorrhage[9] and hospitalized overnight' (in the subsequent criminal trial against Mr. Hacker, Mr. Ngo suggested, and agreed with the defense's question, that he suffered brain damage in the incident). Several days later a video was posted to the Fox News YouTube channel of an interview he gave them after the attack[10].
October 31, 2019
As part of a protest/prank on Halloween, six people wearing masks of Mr. Ngo's face stood outside his home, banging on windows and trying to open the door handle. This told Mr. Ngo that his personal information had been found out and distributed among other people, and that such doxxing caused him to fear for the safety of him and his family.
After laying out the claims for damage, he asked for a judgement 'exceeding $300,000, trebled to $900,000' (as part of the Oregon RICO statutes) as well as attorney fees and costs, pre-interest judgement, and injunctive relief preventing the Defendants from 'harassing, threatening, harming' Mr. Ngo.
Service difficulties
Almost immediately the case began running into problems, as by the end of August only two parties were actually served, with people not named in the case getting served (presumably in an attempt to serve Rose City Antifa) and difficulties finding other defendants to provide service. From August 2020 to March of 2021 Mr. Ngo worked with the courts to attempt to serve defendants who he alleged had fled the state and/or were ducking process servers to avoid service. In September 3, 2020 filings, the process server stated that both were attempting to also evade unrelated court actions and bench warrants, and at least one was attempting service in Boise, Idaho.
Benjamin Bolen attempts to cancel case against him
On September 21st, 2020, Benjamin Bolen, who Mr. Ngo claimed 'rabbit punched' him in the stomach on May 1st, 2019, files a motion asking to be stricken from the case, claiming that he never punched Mr. Ngo, and that the photo that Mr. Ngo used to identify him in the complaint is a completely different person. He also raised objections that the complaint was overly broad, not showing a good connection between any of the parties or dates involved, and that the real motivation for the lawsuit was to punish others for their political ideology.
In November 2020, Judge Kathleen Daily denied the motion, stating that since this was essentially an anti-SLAPP motion, violence alleged against another person is not protected speech under the First Amendment, and as the alleged punch was the cause of the lawsuit against Bolen, it was that punch that would have to be seen as protected speech before the legal analysis could continue. It was a defense that could be made at trial. Mr. Bolen appealed the case to the appellate court (under case A175559), who upheld the judge's decision.
During the flurry of motions and cross-motions dealing with the strike, Mr. Ngo claimed that he was attacked at 2:45pm on May 1st, had no injuries at the time and had been experiencing pain immediately after being punched and sought medical treatment. However, the brawl at Cider Riot! was early in the evening and it's uncertain if he would have sought treatment before or after the alleged pepper there. His lawyer also claimed that the declarations by Bolen and another witness were full of unverifiable claims or outright fabrications. Many of the filings by Mr. Ngo's lawyers relink the same Hill[2] editorial vilifying Antifa as a group.
By the end of October, the court docket is filled with a flurry of motions to strike, cross motions to strike, responses to the cross motion to strike, and responses to the responses to cross motion to strike, which, while not entirely uncommon in complex litigation, does make for confusing reading.
First Amended Complaint
In a filing on July 21, 2021, Mr. Ngo filed a motion requesting to amend his original complaint. In the motion, he alleged a new incident from May 28. 2021 that implicated Mr. Hacker and Rose City Antifa, as well as introducing a new defendant, Elizabeth Richter. This new incident is commonly referred to as The Nines as the alleged assault primarily took place around and inside the Hotel Nines in Downtown Portland. In the proposed complaint, Mr. Ngo claims that Mr. Hacker only spoke to him, questioning him (which Mr. Ngo did not respond to), and that unnamed individuals unmasked Mr. Ngo, confirming his identity. Nothing in this original encounter suggests that Mr. Hacker had anything to do with the unmasking or did anything other than speak to Mr. Ngo.
He alleged that he was attacked by an unknown individual, and then was followed by Ms. Richter into the hotel. He said that Ms. Richter 'call[ed] out, in substance, for them to assist in beating Ngo.' and other comments that Mr. Ngo perceived as threatening.
It appeared that Mr. Ngo was trying to hold Ms. Richter jointly responsible for all the 2019 actions as part of the original Oregon RICO claims, alleging that all the defendants are connected through Rose City Antifa. The primary criteria that he appears to be using is the the defendants frequent use of 'black bloc', or wearing all black to minimize or hide their individual identities, claiming that that is enough to prove they were all in the same organization. This seems to fly in the face of frequent news portrayals of other groups across the world using similar obscuring tactics for a variety of purposes, including thefts and self-proclaimed Nazis, who would be the ideological opposition to anti fascists.
Parties
| Name | Party | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Andy Ngo | Plantiff | Active |
| Rose City Antifa | Defendant | Dismissed (Rule 7 dismissal) |
| Madison Lee Allen | Defendant | Dismissed (Rule 7 dismissal)[11] |
| Benjamin Bolen | Defendant | Dismissed (Case Settled) |
| Katharine Belyea | Defendant | Dismissed (Rule 7 dismissal)[11] |
| Joseph Evans | Defendant | Dismissed (Rule 7 dismissal)[11] |
| John Hacker | Defendant | Active |
| Elizabeth Richter | Defendant | Active |
Media
| Date | Event | FTR Audio | MP3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/16/2020 | Hearing | ZIP[12] | MP3 |
Court Records
Q2 2020
| Date | Filing | Information/Documents |
|---|---|---|
| 6/4/2020 | Complaint | [PDF] |
| 6/23/2020 | Motion | Out of State Attorney |
| 6/23/2020 | Declaration | Harmeet Dhillion in support of pro hoc vice |
| 6/23/2020 | Declaration | Gregory Michael in support of pro hoc vice |
Q3 2020
| Date | Filing | Information/Documents |
|---|---|---|
| 7/8/2020 | Order | Granting Motion for Admission of Attorney pro hoc vice Harmeet Dhillon |
| 7/8/2020 | Order | Granting Motion for Admission of Attorney pro hoc vice Gregory Michael |
| 8/18/2020 | Notice | |
| 8/21/2020 | Proof - Service - Substitute | upon Julie Jackson non-party[13][14] |
| 8/21/2020 | Proof - Service | Katherine Belyea[13] |
| 8/21/2020 | Proof - Service | John Hacker[13] |
| 8/21/2020 | Affidavit/Declaration - Mailing | Mailed to Ben Bolen[13] |
| 8/26/2020 | Proof - Service | upon Luis Marquez non-party[13][14] |
| 8/28/2020 | Notice - Intent Take Default | John Hacker |
| 8/28/2020 | Notice - Intent Take Default | John Bolen |
| 8/28/2020 | Notice - Intent Take | Katherine Belyea |
| 9/1/2020 | Notice - Withdrawal of Attorney | Gregory Michael for Andy Ngo |
| 9/3/2020 | Motion - Continuance | Unable to serve Joseph Evans[13] |
| 9/3/2020 | Motion - Continuance | Unable to serve Madison Allen[13] |
| 9/3/2020 | Order - Proposed | Continuance due to service |
| 9/11/2020 | Notice - Representation | For John Hacker |
| 9/16/2020 | Order | Rule 7 Service Postponement Granted (for Joseph Evans) |
| 9/16/2020 | Order | Rule 7 Service Postponement Granted (for Madison Allen) |
| 9/21/2020 | Motion - Strike | Bolen, requesting being struck from the case. |
| 9/21/2020 | Declaration | of Benjamin in Support of Special Motion to Strike |
| 9/21/2020 | Declaration | of Shane Burley in Support of Defendant Ben Bolen's Motion to Strike |
Q4 2020
| Date | Filing | Information/Documents |
|---|---|---|
| 10/5/2020 | Motion - Strike | Cross motion from Ngo to strike 9/21 Declarations |
| 10/5/2020 | Memorandum - Support Motion | Memorandum of Law |
| 10/5/2020 | Declaration | Andy Ngo opposition to Bolen's Motion |
| 10/5/2020 | Memorandum - Opposing Motion | Andy Ngo opposition to Bolen's 9/21 motion |
| 10/21/2020 | Order | Appointing Judge Kathleen Daily as motions judge |
| 10/21/2020 | Notice | Appointment of Judge |
| 10/15/2020 | Reply | Bolen in support of anti-SLAPP motion |
| 10/15/2020 | Response | Bolen response to Ngo's motion to strike declarations |
| 10/22/2020 | Reply | Ngo response in support of his 10/5 motion |
| 11/13/2020 | Motion - Allow Service by Mail | Newspaper publication to serve Madison Allen and Joseph Evans[13][15] |
| 11/13/2020 | Declaration | Carole Caldwell, support of Alternative Service motion[13][15] |
| 11/13/2020 | Order - Proposed | For allowing alternative service[13][15] |
| 11/19/2020 | Hearing - Motion | Motion to Strike |
| 12/15/2020 | Opinion | Order - Defendant Motion to Strike denied, Plantiff granted in part and denied in part |
| 12/23/2020 | Order | Service by Publication (signed order of the 11/13/2020 proposed order) |
Q1 2021
| Date | Filing | Information/Documents |
|---|---|---|
| 3/8/2023 | Assignment - Transcriber | |
| 3/8/2023 | Certificate | Certificate of Notice to Court Reporter/Transcriber |
| 3/8/2023 | Affidavit/Declaration - Publication | Proof of alternative service for Madison Allen[13][15] |
| 3/8/2023 | Affidavit/Declaration - Publication | Proof of alternative service for Joseph Evans[13][15] |
| 3/9/2023 | Notice - Appeal | Bolen's appeal of 12/15/2020 order |
| 3/10/2021 | Notice | Rule 7 - 91 Day |
| 3/17/2021 | Certificate | Amended Certificate of Service of Notice of Appeal, A175559 |
| 3/17/2021 | Notice - Judgement Entry | Denying Special Motion to Strike (official judgement of 12/21/2020 opinion) |
| 3/18/2021 | Proof - Service | Refiling of the 8/28/2020 proof of service against Luis Marquez[13][14] |
Q2 2021
| Date | Filing | Information/Documents |
|---|---|---|
| 4/6/2021 | Notice | Appeal |
| 5/28/2021 | Certificate | Preparation and Service of Transcript |
Q3 2021
| Date | Filing | Information/Documents |
|---|---|---|
| 6/18/2021 | Certificate | Filing of Transcript |
| 6/25/2021 | Notice | Transmission of trial court file |
| 7/21/2021 | Motion - Amend | Plantiff's Leave to amend complaint |
- ↑ https://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/01/antifa-charlottesville-violence-fbi-242235
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://thehill-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/thehill.com/opinion/criminal-justice/500764-why-its-likely-to-be-antifa-not-neo-nazis-behind-the-anarchy-in-america/amp/
- ↑ https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/trump-is-right-antifa-are-terrorists-they-always-were
- ↑ https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/the-hill/
- ↑ https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/washington-examiner/
- ↑ https://www-opb-org.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.opb.org/article/2022/09/15/portland-police-records-sean-kealiher-homicide-investigation/?outputType=amp
- ↑ https://twitter.com/PortlandPolice/status/1145106839618502656?s=20
- ↑ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/milkshakes-thrown-in-portland/
- ↑ https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/subarachnoid-hemorrhage/symptoms-causes/syc-20361009
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M4mrUoJy0c
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Orders written by Judge Ghandour and dated July 19, 2023 state that the Order of Default against this party was granted, however, there is no judgement listed in the docket after the Feb 10, 2023 dismissal on these parties. This will be corrected if/when new filings are made available
- ↑ FTR Audio is a proprietary software format, and requires the use of free software from For The Record, available here.
- ↑ 13.00 13.01 13.02 13.03 13.04 13.05 13.06 13.07 13.08 13.09 13.10 13.11 13.12 In an attempt to mitigate the use of our platform for illegal doxxing, some records may not be made directly available on our site. For more information on HB 3047 and 3273 that are guiding this, please see our ORS 30.835 page.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 In this instance, the party served is not named in the case, and no indication is made who the service was for.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 In this instance, there is information indicating that the defendants have no connection with the addresses in the filings, so they are withheld to protect non-parties to the case.