The lead guitarist and banjoist for British folk rockers Mumford and Sons is drawing fire for his tweet praising a book by conservative journalist Andy Ngo, Entertainment Weekly reports.
On Saturday, Winston Marshall tweeted a picture of Ngo’s book Unmasked: Inside Antifa’s Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy with the text, “Congratulations @MrAndyNgo. Finally had the time to read your important book. You’re a brave man.” The tweet has since been deleted.
Ngo, a writer based in Portland, Oregon, is known for his hostility to antifa, the anti-fascist movement. His book was published in February; a reviewer for Kirkus called it “an overwrought exposé on the supposed lurking menace that is antifa” and “a book that belongs in any QAnon subscriber’s collection.”
On Twitter, author Brigitte Gabriel defended Marshall, tweeting, “You can now be cancelled on the left for simply reading a book they don’t approve of.…The left has gone full communist/fascist.”
Other Twitter users took the opportunity to mock Marshall and his band. “Mumford and Sons, eh? It’s always the ones you absolutely suspect the most,” wrote Richie McCormack.
And another user tweeted, “I see Winston Marshall is being criticised for promoting Andy Ngo’s trash book. But not for the obviously greater crime of being in Mumford and Sons?”
I see Winston Marshall is being criticised for promoting Andy Ngo's trash book. But not for the obviously greater crime of being in Mumford Sons?
— Mark Bould (@MarkBould3) March 7, 2021
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.