Labeled "The Richmond Antifa Leader" Again
If I had a nickel for every time Fox News Digitial published an article that cites a source claiming that I am the “the leader of Richmond Antifa,” then I would have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot but it’s strange that it happened twice.
On Friday night, Andy Ngo had a speaking engagement in Henrico County along with the Virginia Forum and the Common Sense Society. Based on footage that I could find, the event appeared to be a PowerPoint presentation about individuals that were arrested while protesting in Richmond during the summer of 2020. Ngo pointed out that protesters that he cherry-picked, had their charges dropped. Ngo does not believe that this because when given their due process, there was no evidence (something I successfully had a lawsuit against.) Instead, Ngo believes that politicians, the media, and protesters are working together. Nothing cited other than anecdotes.
This speaking engagement was not originally planned in Henrico County. The Commonwealth Club was the first location selected. The Commonwealth Club cancelled the event with Ngo. According to Fox News Digital, Common Sense Society claims that The Commonwealth Club shared a post from the website X (formerly Twitter) user GoadGatsby (that’s me) with the direct quote "runs the Richmond Antifa and is sure to draw attention that we don’t want." The Commonwealth Club has made no public statements to verify this.
The night before the Ngo event, organizers sent out an e-mail to ticket holders that the event was going to be held at the Richmond Westin Hotel. It was not long until those details of the event had been posted on social media. Within a few hours of the scheduled event, Ticket holders were notified via e-mail that the event was happening at the Belmont Rec Center in Henrico County.
This is not the first time Fox New Digital has cited a source referring to me as “Antifa.” Earlier in March, Fox News Digital used the shady and anonymous website AntifaWatch dot Net as a source which links to a page about me that states, “The Expose RVA Antifa Twitter account considers him one of the main leaders of Antifa in the Richmond area.” Even the Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins referred to me as the “head” of Richmond Antifa.
There is a history of branding me a member of Antifa. During the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, I was assaulted by white nationalist Chris Cantwell. In an attempt to escape consequences for his actions, Cantwell sued me and another victim, Emily Gorcenski. This lawsuit was unsuccessful and resulted in Cantwell pleading guilty to lesser misdemeanor charges.
Blaming an undefined “Antifa” is a great tactic to avoiding responsibility. With Ngo, he can avoid the difficulty that his tactics are not well liked. Similarly, Cantwell avoided taking ownership of the assault he perpetrated. The Proud Boys Zach Rehl claimed that the Proud Boys were just protecting the crowd from Antifa when they stormed the Capitol on January 6.
The tactic of blaming “Antifa” should not be discounted as ineffective. In attendance for Andy Ngo’s event was former acting director of ICE Tony Pham. Virginia State Senator Amanda Chase was present as well. Chase was in Washington DC on January 6th and meet up with Oath Keeper’s Stewart Rhodes the night before. Law enforcement and conservative politicians continue to push fake Antifa narratives.
I am going to say this to be clear, I am not a leader of Richmond Antifa. I am not sure what that means but I do not lead any protests. I am just active on social media, and I don’t hide my face. That makes me an easy scape goat for Fox News.
don't you mean scape Goad mr antifa???