The newly designated terrorist group with communist origins is known for targeting its opponents with violence.
Investigative journalist Andy Ngo fled a group of violent Antifa protesters in Portland, Oregon, in May 2021, he told Jan Jekielek on an episode of EpochTV’s “American Thought Leaders” that will air on Oct. 16 at 9 p.m. EDT.
Ngo said he feared for his life and that he cried out for assistance as he ran, his heart pounding.
“I didn’t know I could run that fast,” he said. “I’m running through downtown, sprinting, screaming for help, and nobody helps.”
Ngo, now 39, recounted the harrowing experience that unfolded late on a Friday night several years before.
“I ran in the middle of the cars in the streets at the red light, pounding on windows and cars asking for help, and when the light turned green, they drove off,” Ngo said.
Moments later, the mob caught up with him. They attacked, beating and choking him until blood vessels in his eyes burst and his brain began hemorrhaging.
“That was my one near-death experience,” Ngo said. “And I was just thinking about my family and those I cared for and loved.”
The incident was the second time that he was assaulted by Antifa in Portland; the first time was in 2019, when he was attacked while covering ongoing riots.
No arrests were made after either assault.
Fearing for his life, Ngo relocated to the UK, but his nine-year-long investigation into Antifa continues.
Antifa is a far-left extremist group that originated under the Soviet Union and functioned as the violent wing of Germany’s Communist Party to target political rivals.
The organization is known for using political violence against its opponents, whom it routinely labels as fascists.
President Donald Trump designated the group a domestic terrorist organization in an executive order signed on Sept. 22.
“Antifa is a militarist, anarchist enterprise that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and our system of law,” the order reads. “It uses illegal means to organize and execute a campaign of violence and terrorism nationwide to accomplish these goals.”
Trump signed another order on Sept. 25 following a shooting at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Alvarado, Texas. In the order, the president directed federal agencies to counter domestic terror and political violence.
It states that violent left-wing activists have caused numerous deaths, injuries, and more than $2 billion in property damage.
On multiple occasions in Northern California and Portland, Oregon, over the past five years, Antifa rioters wearing all black, with their faces covered, have harassed reporters, photographers, and camera crews working for The Epoch Times and its sister media outlet NTD.
