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There are many reasons not to physically harm right wing provocateurs like Andy Ng0. Violence is wrong, and also assault is a crime. And also, when you do this, you put money, and I mean probably a TON of money, directly into his pocket. 
If Andy had been greeted with sneers and jeers instead of physical violence today, he would not be trending. He would not be raking in tens of thousands of dollars on Gofundme. He would not be invited on Fox News. He would still be an aspiring right wing media star.
But starting tomorrow, Andy will probably be a star. And when Andy moves to NYC for his post at Fox or DC for a WH comms job, some new grifter with a camera will take his place in Portland, awaiting their shot at the big time.
Another reason not to assault right wing provocateurs. Their goal is to get their opponents on the left declared a "domestic terrorist group" and to bring the weight and resources of the federal government to bear on them.
If you click on that hashtag you'll see people tweeting at the Justice Department, the FBI, and the Trump family asking them to "do something" about Antifa. Those same people, of course, say they hate intrusive big government...but they'll make an exception in this case.
Look, there's an easy solution to what happened yesterday. The people responsible for the assault should be held accountable for it through the existing criminal justice system.
The right wing media will be pushing this story because it furthers their BS narrative about "the violent and dangerous left," and because they would like to see the federal government return to its Hoover days of surveilling American progressives.
But let's be clear about who the right wing "free speech" activists of the PNW are. Here's a photo of one of them from a protest last summer.
Here are FB posts from someone who came to PDX yesterday for the "free speech" rally. That facemask looks familiar.
No one should be violently assaulted. But let's be attuned to who has a vested interest in turning the criminal actions of a few people into "a federal case" against "the left." And also, cui bono.
And here’s a video of the right wing “free speech” protesters trying to bait counter-protesters. "We should go down to the corner to get them riled up so they throw sh*t at the cops. Let's go f*ck 'em up."
And lest anyone think this is doctored, this video was posted by this person on their FB page. They took the footage, they posted it.
In sum...Andy is the Geraldo Rivera of G. Gordon Liddy's. And the woman who took that video is the Alison Gold of Tomi Lahrens.
One last thing. Here's the thread to read for a deeper understanding of the cynical, political long-game that motivates folks like Andy and the right wing provocateurs who came to Portland yesterday.
Update. Andy's now made an additional $20,000 in just the last 3 hours off of the outrage generated by that footage.
