ABOUT FAITH & FREEDOM

Thursday, August 10, 2023

Portland Jury Finds Antifa "Not Liable"

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At the conclusion of journalist Andy Ngo's multi-day civil trial against Rose City Antifa, whose far-left militant members brutally beat the investigative reporter when he went undercover to expose Antifa's extremist activities on the riot-torn streets of Portland, a 12-person jury reached a verdict in the case Tuesday evening, reportedly finding both of the defendants not liable for all claims.

This is what lawlessness looks like.

Be informed, not misled.

The Post Millennial's senior editor—represented by attorney Harmeet Dhillon's nonprofit Center for American Liberty—sought almost $1 million in damages in a lawsuit accusing the co-defendants of assault, battery, theft, and intentional infliction of emotional distress over a series of violent Antifa attacks beginning in 2019, when Ngo was hospitalized for a brain hemorrhage.

In closing statements, defense counsel Michelle Burrows told the jurors that not only does she self-identify as an "anti-fascist," she strongly declared, "I am Antifa," and insisted upon making herself an "I am Antifa" t-shirt, which the activist attorney said she would wear after the trial. In spite of Antifa's well-documented history of violence, Burrows told the jury that Antifa's unfavorable reputation is untrue and depicted the organized militants as activists fighting for social justice and civil rights. "Resistance in this country has never been peaceful," Burrows argued in defense of Antifa, admitting that Ngo's tormenters were, in fact, "terrorists."

Rather than taking the time to provide evidence as to why the defendants should be free of liability, Burrow instead defended anti-fascism and attacked Ngo's credibility as a journalist. Burrows also told jurors that she "will remember each one of their faces."

Before jury deliberation commenced, Judge Chanpone Sinlapasai announced that the jurors had raised safety concerns about being "doxxed" and claimed that people have been trying to identify them, according to a Post Millennial report by Seattle-based correspondent Katie Daviscourt. Before the trial's conclusion, Sinlapasai issued court orders banning the public and non-credentialed press from the courtroom for the duration of Ngo's jury trial as it was underway in Multnomah County Circuit Court. The judge's decision was made due to multiple in-court disruptions since the trial began on July 31 as well as security issues.

In June 2019, Ngo, the son of Vietnamese refugees, covered another event organized by Rose City Antifa, a viral incident caught on camera that showed Ngo being repeatedly punched, kicked in the head, hit with placards, and doused with "concrete-infused" milkshakes. Ngo required a hospital stay to treat his brain bleed, in addition to months of therapy. Ngo testified that he had to see a cognitive, physical, and occupational therapist following the attack and saw a psychologist for the trauma he was experiencing, which resembled PTSD.

Then there was this:

The reporter for The Post Millennial, Katie Daviscourt, had just finished a grueling stint in Portland covering the civil trial of Andy Ngo v. alleged Antifa attackers when she returned to her car to find it smashed up---windows broken out, personal items stolen.

This is the profile of third-world lawlessness.

A year ago, Rep. John Katko (R-NY) wrote an article for the center-Left news organization "The Hill" expressing his deep concern over the growing lawlessness in our country:

Prior to my time in Congress, I had the honor of serving for nearly 20 years as a federal prosecutor fighting organized crime and corruption, while putting violent criminals behind bars. With a deeply held belief that law and order is essential for a functioning society, it’s unnerving that as a nation, we are now seeing the highest spike in murder rates in decades. Of further concern is the lack of fortitude from Democrats to address this problem. Not surprisingly, this is largely occurring in Democrat-run cities.

Prior to my time in Congress, I had the honor of serving for nearly 20 years as a federal prosecutor fighting organized crime and corruption, while putting violent criminals behind bars. With a deeply held belief that law and order is essential for a functioning society, it’s unnerving that as a nation, we are now seeing the highest spike in murder rates in decades. Of further concern is the lack of fortitude from Democrats to address this problem. Not surprisingly, this is largely occurring in Democrat-run cities.

He said, "If Democrats wanted to address the crime crisis, we would see them taking action, but right now they seem to care more about deflecting. The truth is that violent criminals are emboldened by soft-on-crime policies and a lack of consequences."

Two years ago, the Heritage Foundation published an article warning of what we are now experiencing.

The article gave three takeaways:

  • Rioting and looting have become regular responses to police incidents or, in the case of Portland, for no apparent reason at all. That cannot become the “new normal."
  • If President Biden is sincere about wanting to end the destructive violence, he will need to do much more than give simple lip service to it.
  • The continuation of the left’s selective outrage, punishment, and division based on race and political agenda will only further divide this country.

We're there.

Takeaway

Lawlessness is primarily a spiritual matter.

First John 3:4 says, “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.” The word translated “lawlessness” comes from the Greek word "anomia," which means “an utter disregard for God and His laws.” 

From this Greek word we also get the word antinomianism, which is the belief that there are no moral laws that God expects Christians to obey. Every sin is a transgression against God because sin violates His moral standard for human beings. Since God created us (Genesis 1:27), He has the right to define boundaries for us. Any violation of those boundaries is a violation of His law, which means that every sin is an act of lawlessness.

Our Founding Fathers understood this and wrote our founding documents, built our institutions, and created a nation that rose to greatness on that Truth.

Scripture makes a distinction between someone who sins, as we all do (Romans 3:10, 23; 1 John 1:8), and someone who “practices lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23; 13:41). A lawless person is one who has given himself or herself over entirely to a sinful lifestyle. Lawless people either do not believe in God or refuse to acknowledge His right to rule their lives (Psalm 14:1). Even those living in lawlessness can find forgiveness if they turn from their sin and receive Christ’s righteousness and salvation (2 Corinthians 5:21; John 3:16–18).

We have separated ourselves from God and His Truth and are now seeing the consequences.

Lawlessness results in a culture running wild (Proverbs 29:18). The time of the judges was so tumultuous because, in part, “all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes” (Judges 21:25). We are seeing the effects of lawlessness in much of the world today, especially in America. God’s laws—and even secular society’s laws—are rejected as obsolete, superfluous, or repressive. Each man is a law unto himself, and the outcome of that type of lawlessness is anarchy and chaos.

The answer to our destructive dilemma is to repent and return to the God who created us.

A spiritual restoration must precede a political restoration.

Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Engaged. Be Prayerful.