A small amount of justice at last in this case.

Earlier this month Andy Ngo’s civil trial against members of Rose City Antifa went to trial. As I explained here, the trial only involved two defendants, John Hacker and Elizabeth Richter, because three other defendants had been found “in default,” meaning they were found liable (the judge would determine the amount of that liability after the trial). One additional defendant had settled the case with Ngo prior to the trial. The trial of the remaining two defendants resulted in the jury siding with the defense.

After nearly a week of hearing testimony from witnesses, watching video footage and hearing from defendants, jurors concluded there wasn’t enough evidence to fault them for the attacks…

Hacker admitted he reacted out of anger that day at the gym, telling the jury he regretted his actions.

“I don’t think it was appropriate. I wasn’t thinking,” Hacker said. “I was just like, ‘I hate this guy. Fuck this guy.’”

Hacker said the gym incident was “a ridiculous way to resolve grievances” and apologized to Ngo in court.

While Hacker acknowledged his role in the 2019 incident, he and his attorneys said he doesn’t seek violence against political foes and wasn’t responsible for a group that jumped Ngo in 2021.

Ngo tried to have the verdict overturned given that Hacker had admitted the incident in the gym but the judge didn’t allow it.

Yesterday, the judge issued his decision on the remaining three people who’d been found in default prior to the trial. Each of them was ordered to pay Ngo $100,000.

Defendants Corbyn “Katherine” Belyea, Madison “Denny” Lee Allen, and Sammich Overkill Schott-Deputy were found liable by Judge Sinaplasai for assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

This court hearing was held in a virtual setting at the Multnomah County Courthouse on Monday after the three defendants were found in default on July 14 by the pre-trial judge for not responding to Ngo’s complaint, which is why they did not appear at the civil jury trial held earlier this month.

All three of the people mentioned are trans, though I’m not clear if all of them were at the time of the attack on Ngo. After the ruling, Ngo issued a statement:

At a hearing today regarding three defaulted Antifa defendants in my Ngo v. Rose City Antifa, et al. lawsuit, the court heard evidence about the brutal June 29, 2019 beating I suffered at a Rose City Antifa event where I was seriously injured. The court found that I was indeed battered and assaulted by Madison “Denny” Lee Allen, Katherine “Corbyn” Belyea and Sammich Overkill Schott-Deputy (formerly Joseph Christian Evans). The court awarded me $300,000—to be split equally among these three attackers.

Today’s victory is a small vindication for the disappointing jury verdict earlier this month at trial. Collecting on these judgments will pose serious challenges; however, I’m deeply grateful for the support of the @liberty_ctr and my counsel Dorothy Yamamoto (@MY_llp_law), Gregory Michael, @pnjaban, James Buchal and @mark_trammell for believing in me, and helping me hold these attackers accountable for trying to violently silence my First Amendment rights. While it will continue to be a steep uphill battle to collect today’s awarded damages given the default defendants’ history of evasion, I remain determined to hold Antifa and its members accountable for their violent attacks.

BREAKING: At a hearing today regarding three defaulted Antifa defendants in my Ngo v. Rose City Antifa, et al. lawsuit, the court heard evidence about the brutal June 29, 2019 beating I suffered at a Rose City Antifa event where I was seriously injured. The court found that I was… pic.twitter.com/4XlHioNXtf

— Andy Ngô 🏳️‍🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) August 21, 2023

As Ngo suggested, there’s little chance he’ll be able to collect on any of the money. Still, it’s a win on the record and case in which violent anti-fascists weren’t able to walk away without consequences. Meanwhile, the rest of these violent goons go right back to doing what they do:

Well I dunno. I was counterprotesting an Antifa rally on Saturday with a sign saying "ANDY NGO IS WRONG BUT SO IS BEATING PEOPLE UP" and they pepper sprayed me in the face: https://t.co/bjQ52JlU9O

Felt pretty real.

— Bennett Haselton (@bennetthaselton) August 22, 2023