Mumford and Sons banjoist Winston Marshall took to social media on Saturday to laud noted right-wing agitator Andy Ngo as a “brave man” and congratulate him on publishing a book about ANTIFA’s “radical plan to destroy democracy.”
“Finally had the time to read your important book,” Marshall tweeted.
Ngo has emerged as a popular voice on the far right due to his reporting on left-wing groups. However, critics of Ngo say he often publishes selectively edited and misleading content in order to paint left-wing activists as violent while downplaying similar conduct on the right. Ngo has also been accused of associating himself with far-right groups such as the Proud Boys. And in a 2019 video, he was captured standing with members of white supremacist outfit Patriot Prayer as they planned an attack on ANTIFA members.
In his newly published book — the one praised by Marshall — Ngo downplays the murders of Heather Heyer by white supremacists in Charlottesville. He also refers to the Proud Boys a “pro-Trump fraternity,” and describes a mid-November “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington as “peaceful and celebratory.” On the other hand, Ngo likens left-wing activists as a “marauding gang” whose mission is to “destroy the nation-state, America in particular.”
Marshall’s praise of Ngo unsurprisingly drew the ire of the Internet. “oh crap, a decent band I have to wipe from memory. Mumford and Sons’ banjo player fesses up to being a Nazi far-right idiot praising Ngo,” tweeted one former fan of the band. Another Twitter user added, “My sister is not happy to discover that “the hottest one!” among the Sons of Mumford is a nazi-azi-azi.” See more reactions below.
This is not the first time Mumford and Sons’ political associations have come under scrutiny. In 2018, Marshall and frontman Marcus Mumford posed for a photograph with Jordan Peterson, the clinical psychologist whose views on things like white privilege, gender identity, and feminism have turned him into a contentious personality favored by the far right.
Congratulations @MrAndyNgo
Finally had the time to read your important book
You’re a brave man pic.twitter.com/2CwX5KINOw
— Winston Marshall (@MrWinMarshall) March 6, 2021
Imagine if being in Mumford and Sons was only the second most embarrassing thing you’ve done https://t.co/HWg6nyKBJG
— John Duncan (@Johntheduncan) March 6, 2021
I may be naive, but “Banjo player from Mumford & Sons Comes Out As Nazi” was not a headline I foresaw…
— Henning Strack (@Nabend1401) March 6, 2021
proud to announce that Mumford & Sons is *not* antifa https://t.co/PN5TgmcMe9
— AntiFash Gordon (@AntiFashGordon) March 6, 2021
While there was an actual planned, if poorly executed, insurrection by the right. All the shit in this book is nothing but a conspiracy theory with zero fact to support it, the right ARE actually trying to tear down democracy. As they have clearly shown in their attempts. #Moron. https://t.co/bPAW1ACxLw
— Sewer Rat Wayne. (@bagsnotfirst) March 6, 2021
My sister is not happy to discover that “the hottest one!” among the Sons of Mumford is a nazi-azi-azi.
— Plinth (@Matt_Hecht) March 6, 2021
