AntiFa’s attack on journalist Andy Ngo was met with glee by Twitter’s elite blue checkmark brigade, who expressed their support for the militant leftists.

A large number of verified users (“blue checkmarks”) on Twitter have weighed in to voice their approval of AntiFa and its brutal assault of journalist Andy Ngo in Portland this weekend.

Left-wing social commentators and journalists expressed glee after Ngo was “milkshaked” and punched — injuries that hospitalized him with brain bleed.

Ngo’s tweets about the attack were met with a mixture of sympathy, shock, and – shockingly – glee as thousands of users shared their views about the violence.

The attack, captured in multiple videos, showed Ngo being assaulted by multiple masked people.

Ngo’s tweets about the attack were met with a mixture of sympathy, shock, and… glee, as thousands of users shared their views about the violence.

Leftist social commentators and Antifa-adjacent journalists, some of whom were previously identified as collaborators of the militant movement, cheered on the attack by first calling Ngo’s status as a journalist into doubt, as if the assault was therefore justified.

Charlotte Clymer, who works for pro-LGBT Human Rights Campaign said the attack was “the greatest thing that could have happened to his career.”

In a tweet akin to claiming a rape victim was wearing too short a skirt, Clymer commented: “Ngo intentionally provokes people on the left to drive his content”.

Violence is completely wrong, and I find it sad and weak to allow a sniveling weasel like Andy Ngo to get under one's skin like this, but I'm also not going to pretend that this wasn't Ngo's goal from the start. I mean… let's cut the shit here. This is what they do. — Charlotte Clymer🏳️‍🌈 (@cmclymer) June 30, 2019

Sarah Gailey, a Hugo Award-winning children’s author offered Ngo’s brutal beating as a preferable alternative to a time when “workers [dragged] the factory owner out of his house in the night and beat him to death in front of his family.”

We're already being gentle as hell, don't let these pearl-clutching YOU KICK MIETTE??? fools back you into a corner where you have to stay quiet while they advocate for literal genocide — Sarah Gailey (@gaileyfrey) June 30, 2019

Nathan Bernard, a left-wing satirist who masquerades as a journalist, says Ngo for “finally got his wish”.

After relentlessly baiting and harassing antifa, far-right provocateur Andy Ngo finally got his wish of being milkshaked. Far-right simpletons like Tim Pool will milk this “victim” story for the next week at least. pic.twitter.com/7thyQ4wESk — Nathan Bernard (@nathanTbernard) June 29, 2019

Formerly “militant atheist” and current “activist against Islamophobia” C.J. Werleman compared AntiFa blackshirts with World War 2 veterans and justified his attack “because he’s a Muslim hating fascist who panders to and promotes white supremacists.”

Anti-fascists (you know, like Second World War veterans) attacked him not because of his race or sexual orientation, but because he's a Muslim hating fascist who panders to and promotes white supremacists. https://t.co/aJmak1GkhA — CJ Werleman (@cjwerleman) June 30, 2019

Dan O’Sullivan, a VICE and Rolling Stone contributor said “he was asking for it.”

And yeah, he was asking for it. ok bye — Dan O'Sullivan (@Bro_Pair) June 30, 2019

Aymann Ismail, a staff writer at Slate, argues Ngo “helped create an atmosphere of violence that vulnerable people all have to live through just for being who they are.”

I’d argue what the fear mongering he’s done against Muslims plus the work he’s done to discredit hate crimes, helped create an atmosphere of violence that vulnerable people all have to live through just for being who they are. This is bad, but he’s guilty of worse. — Aymann Ismail (@aymanndotcom) June 30, 2019

Following CNN anchor Jake Tapper’s tweet decrying AntiFa violence, several journalists and public personalities voiced their disagreement with him, including Erica K. Landau, senior producer at Versa; Brooke Binkowski, former Snopes managing editor, Robyn Pennacchia, Wonkette contributor; Keith Buckley, vocalist of Every Time I Die; Vic Berger IV, political commentator; Idrees Ahmad, an editor for the L.A. Review of Books; and Rob Rousseau, VICE contributor.

Daniel Hoffman-Gill, an actor with smaller TV credits to his name, joined the chorus when comedian Ricky Gervais denounced the attack in a separate tweet.

Ngo is a journalist the same way Yaxley-Lennon is. In other words he ain’t. And the idea that he isn’t a vile muck spreader of the highest order and a serial lair, involved in inciting hatred towards minority groups. No need to cc him in, he won’t love you more Ben. — Daniel Hoffmann-Gill (@danielh_g) July 1, 2019

Katie Shepherd, of Portland-based publication Willamette Week, accused journalists covering Ngo’s assault of producing “bad coverage of a mostly unremarkable protest” by referring to him as a journalist and questioned police reports of cement-laced milkshakes.

Charlie Warzel, writer-at-large for the New York Times blamed Ngo for putting himself in a volatile situation and claims that the violence “should” be unacceptable.

Thread from a great journalist who routinely embeds w/ hate groups. This doesn't discount that the situation is fucked and that violence should be unacceptable. But there are also serious risks involved with putting yourself in volatile situations. Any journalist should know that https://t.co/KPmaiSrmoM — Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel) June 30, 2019

Even as left-leaning blue checkmarks on Twitter seemed overwhelming in their justification of the attack, Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and Aquaman actress Amber Heard were a fresh breath of sanity with their tweets condemning the violence.

I hope @MrAndyNgo is okay. Journalists should be safe to report on a protest without being targeted. — Andrew Yang (@AndrewYang) July 1, 2019

Ian Miles Cheong is the managing editor of Human Events