GABRIEL NADALES: Anarchy Has Gripped Portland. Is Your City Next?

GABRIEL NADALES: Anarchy Has Gripped Portland. Is Your City Next?

Gabriel Nadales on August 30, 2023

In 2019, journalist Andy Ngo was savagely attacked by a cadre of so-called Antifa activists leading to a brain injury. While the black masks they wore made it difficult to identify them, fortunately for Ngo, the attack was captured completely on video.

Despite the video evidence, no criminal charges were ever filed. It was up to Andy Ngo to find justice — and he put in the work. Thanks to his journalist experience he was able to identify the attackers and file a civil suit against the perpetrators to at the very least get some compensation for the equipment that was stolen, the medical bills he had to pay and the pain and suffering he endured from the attack.

But to the surprise of no one, Antifa and its affiliates obstructed the trial at every corner, as they barged into the courtroom and disrupted the proceedings with the same energy they used to attack Andy Ngo.

The Antifa members and their defense counsel knew they had no defense — that’s why during her closing remarks, the defense counsel chose, not to defend her clients, but instead chose to decry Andy Ngo, boldly declare “I am Antifa,” and told the jurors that she was going to “remember” every one of their faces.

If you were a juror in that trial, you would have felt threatened — and many did. In fact, the presiding judge informed the courtroom that the jurors felt unsafe and were worried they would be “doxxed” by Antifa. Ultimately, the jury was forced to vote in favor of the defendants out of fear for their own safety.

Being tried by an unbiased jury of your peers is the cornerstone of the American judicial system and the rule of law. Andy Ngo didn’t lose the trial Antifa — America lost. And if we don’t do more to strengthen our legal system, there will be no going back.

This trial sends a dangerous signal to criminals in Portland and beyond. You can get away with crime if you use fear.

But how did we get here? This is not just about Antifa, it is about criminals of all persuasions, ideological or not and the prosecutors who have for long refused to do their jobs.

A prime example can be found in the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, who chose not to prosecute nearly 70% of people arrested in 2022. As a result, people living and working in the nation’s capital are becoming victims of violent assaults, carjackings, robberies and even homicides. This is what led D.C. city councilman Trayon White to implore the mayor to call for a state of emergency on crime.

Another example occurred in 2022, when New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced that he would refuse to prosecute certain crimes such as resisting arrest, disrupting government administration or even prostitution.

Just recently, the citizens of Oakland, California, initiated an effort to oust Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price for her negligence and refusal to prosecute criminals. This comes after the Oakland NAACP sent a letter in July to local officials slamming them for a precipitous rise in crime in the area.

Hopefully, she will meet the same fate as Chesa Boudin in San Francisco, who was recalled after his notoriously soft-on-crime approach.

When you don’t prosecute crime, you get more of it.

Andy Ngo was forced to file his own suit to seek justice. But the truth is, the district attorney in his city should have prosecuted the members responsible as soon as he saw the video evidence. Americans need strong district attorneys who are willing to do their job, so private citizens like Andy Ngo don’t have to seek their own justice in the courtroom.

Gabriel Nadales is a former Antifa activist and the national director for Our America.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.