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The Turning Point USA activist was trying to force his way into the “No Hate in WA State” campaign kickoff at Neumos when he allegedly struck a security guard in the back of the head.
By Erica C. Barnett
Security at Neumos on Capitol Hill called police on Turning Point USA activist Jonathan Choe last night after Choe allegedly hit a security guard in the back of the head while trying to force his way inside the private No Hate in WA State campaign kickoff.
A Seattle Police Department spokesman said Choe left the scene after Neumos security called the police to report the assault.
According to a police report on the incident, Choe attempted to push and shove his way into the event, which kicked off the campaign against two far-right statewide initiatives on the ballot in November. The first would prevent trans girls from participating in school sports; the second would eliminate privacy protections for kids who reveal confidential information to school officials, including mental health counselors.
The latter proposal would force school districts to out LGBTQ kids to their parents and reveal private health information, such as whether student has asked about reproductive health care, if they have revealed that information to a trusted adult at school.
Choe, who is Korean American, was filmed outside Neumos yesterday, screaming nonsense like “I identify as a Black man!” “you’re wearing a wig!” and “you’re all white supremacists!” before attempting to force his way inside.
The police report notes that Choe also called the security guard a “white supremacist” for denying him access to the private campaign kickoff.
This is not the first time Choe has allegedly assaulted someone and then fled the scene. In 2024, he punched a trans woman and dragged her down the street by her hair, later claiming without evidence that she had “bumped” him; he fled that scene after throwing a metal baton he was carrying into the street. Earlier this year, he filmed himself clubbing a protester outside a far-right rally and concert at City Hall; the protester he attacked was arrested, while Choe was not.
Choe even harassed supporters of Mayor Katie Wilson at her inauguration, shouting “he’s trantifa, he’s trantifa” while filming random people at City Hall.
Choe films constantly on his phone, but has never posted video that shows anyone actually assaulting him—despite frequently claiming to be the victim of left-wing violence. His typical MO, documented yesterday in videos that show him trying to provoke people into physical fights outside Neumos, is to claim that someone he is harassing has attacked or touched him in order to claim “self-defense” when he attacks them physically.
At yesterday’s event, Choe predictably yelled “don’t touch me!” at people who were not touching him, posting the video on X and claiming “the transgender mafia targeted me with death threats and also challenged me to a fight.” (Watch Choe’s own edited video to see what a snowflake this man is—in reality, people were pointing out that Asian Americans are also targets of white supremacists.)
Choe describes himself as a journalist. He was fired from his last journalism job, as a reporter the right-leaning KOMO TV station, after promoting the Proud Boys hate group with a promotional video scored with a far-right anthem known as the “Männerbund” In a Twitter post accompanying the video, Choe invited people to attend a Proud Boys rally in Olympia and listen to what they had to say.
We’ve reached out to Neumos management and will update this post if we hear back.
“The first [state initiative] would prevent trans girls from participating in school sports”?? Or would it prevent trans girls from competing against biological women but still allow them to compete against biological boys?
I don’t condone Choe’s abhorrent behavior. But I absolutely do support the two initiatives mentioned. It is not hateful in the least to protect girls sports for girls. And it’s absolutely reasonable that parents, who have the primary responsibility of looking after their children’s physical and mental health should have access to their school records. Hopefully both initiatives pass with high margins.