Right-wing commentator Andy Ngo roasted for claiming ‘Antifa’ was behind violence at protest outside trans-inclusive spa

Right-wing commentator Andy Ngo has been roasted after he claimed the Antifa movement was responsible for violence that erupted during protests at a Los Angeles spa.

Writing on Twitter, the author of the controversial book Unmasked, was mocked after he posted footage of a protest outside a trans-inclusive spa and claimed that people in the ‘antifa’ movement “gathered to assault” those protesting about trans people being allowed to use the facilities.

Protests erupted in Wi Spa located in the Koreatown neighbourhood in Los Angeles on Saturday after a patron at the business went viral for posting a video complaining that “a biological male” was in the women’s section, misgendering a trans woman who was allowed in Wi Spa’s female section under the business’ policies.

Conservatives took on the ‘cause’ and made a number of controversial claims that the presence of trans people in the spa would endanger cisgendered people.

Tucker Carlson featured a segment about the spa on his show, saying that the complaint where the customer misgenders the trans patron “made my day”.

His guest, the conservative gay commentator Tammy Bruce, also suggested that most “transgenders” don’t want equal access to bathrooms and that the “gay political leadership” has latched onto equal access to facilities as a way to raise money following the legal protection of marriage equality.

Five people were injured at the protest, according to police, and footage showed groups of activists using pipes, fists, and even skateboards in physical clashes.

The group SoCal Antifa had promoted a counter-protest beforehand and footage shows people who wore items associated with the Antifa movement at the scene. However, officials have not attributed the violence to any particular group, despite Ngo’s assertions.

Reacting to the protest, Marie Dumouch, a demonstrator told CBS LA: “I think we should let people live their lives, and let trans people live their lives how they want to.”

Solidarity demonstrations for the trans community are planned for Saturday and Sunday at the nearby MacArthur Park.

This story was updated on July 9th 2021 to include the fact that people who wore items associated with Antifa were at the protest.