(USNewsMag.com) – An Oregon jury last week found Antifa activists Elizabeth Richter and John Hacker not liable in the civil lawsuit brought by independent journalist Andy Ngo over an attack he received while undercover at a Portland protest in 2021, Just the News reported.
Ngo filed a $300,000 civil suit for assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, alleging that the activists instigated the attack.
In one surprising moment during closing arguments in the trial, defense attorney Michelle Burrows proclaimed, “I am Antifa.”
In a lengthy tweet after the jury verdict, Ngo expressed disappointment and said the verdict sent “a dangerous message” that “extremist groups can continue to organize criminal activities in Portland.”
Last week, while appearing with his attorney Eric Sell on Fox News’s “The Ingraham Angle,” Ngo said that there was a “near media blackout” during the weeklong trial after jurors expressed fear for their safety due to “repeated incidents” both in the courthouse and outside. Before deliberations began, the judge had ordered the jurors’ identities to be sealed over attempts to identify them.
Eric Sell suggested that the jury’s verdict to find the defendants not liable may have been influenced by the intimidation efforts. Sell said that while the extent of the intimidation is not clear, the judge did say that the jurors were being threatened.
Ngo told host Laura Ingraham that he was still trying to understand the jury’s verdict.
He said the court did not allow his attorneys to introduce “critical evidence” showing the attempts by the defendants to destroy or hide their communications with each other and others around the time of his attack.
Ngo said he did not receive justice from the criminal justice system in Portland and hoped that the jurors would see that.
In his tweet last week, Ngo said he remained “committed to seeking justice” and said he was considering his legal options.
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