Although 90,000 people poured into Cincinnati for the Cincinnati Music Festival, Black Music Walk of Fame Inductees Ceremony, 513 Festival, and other events, all eyes were on a viral video of a 3 a.m. fight downtown outside of a bar. The fight occurred on Saturday, July 26. Some reports say about 100 people were involved.
Mayor Aftab Pureval and other city leaders said they would beef up law enforcement patrols, but criticized how the much-shared video of the fight had portrayed the city in what they see as an unfair and cynical light.
Surrounded by City leaders and other public officials, the Mayor held a press conference on Friday, August 1, to give an update on the fight. “Let me be clear, there is no place for violent crime in Cincinnati, whether it’s a fight or gun violence,” Mayor Aftab Pureval said. “We will pursue those responsible and we will hold them accountable no matter who they are.”
Video of the fight quickly went viral, and conservative leaders and influencers seized on the brawl to point out what they see as lawless urban areas in America. Those voices included Vice President JD Vance, Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and the vice president’s half brother, Cory Bowman, who is running to be mayor of Cincinnati.
A video went viral after showing a fight on 4th & Elm Streets in downtown Cincinnati at about 3 a.m. on Saturday, July 26. The video shows two men arguing. One man, who is White, reaches across a man who is trying to keep two men apart, and the White man slaps another man, who is Black. A fight erupts involving about 100 people.
One part of the video shows a woman, Holly, who is punched in the face and falls to the ground, lying motionless before another woman helps her. She can be seen bleeding from the mouth.
Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge said five men and one woman “were subjected to unimaginable physical violence” in the brawl. She didn’t identify them. She also said six people have been charged with assault and rioting for playing a role in the brawl, five of whom are in custody.
The mayor acknowledged on Friday the perception remained that the city was dangerous, but he pointed out that data showed the violent crime was declining in the city. Pureval also said “there’s a concerning increase in burglaries and breaking and entering, and shootings in some specific areas.
“Currently too many Cincinnatians don’t feel safe,” he said. “All of us, especially me, are clear-eyed and working urgently to fix that.”
Pureval said he was working with Republican Gov. Mike DeWine to deploy state highway patrol to work highways into the city, which should free up more police officers. He also said police units like SWAT and the Civil Disturbance Response Team will expand their reach in the city.
The day after the fight, Cincinnati Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney assured the public that the police were investigating the fight and would determine who was responsible.That person or persons “will be held accountable,” Kearney said. On Monday, July 28, the Chief charged five individuals and arrested three. Later in the week, a sixth suspect was charged. More arrests were made.Those arrested are Black, leading some to question whether the White man who seemed to have thrown the first punch was being charged. The identity of the sixth person was not announced, pending the person’s arrest.
Vice Mayor Kearney said, “Let us be clear. We do not condone violence. We condemn the violent actions of the instigator(s) of the fight as well as the violent actions of those who responded to the provocation.
“Every city has challenges, and we confront our challenges head on. We must stand together and work for justice, knowing that a united Cincinnati is strong and victorious.”
Theetge said, “This remains an open investigation, and I want to assure you, we will not stop until justice is finally served.”
Several speakers, including the Rev. Damon Lynch III, Pastor of New Prospect Baptist Church in Roselawn and a Civil Rights leader, talked about how the fight had been racialized and several blamed conservative Republicans for fueling that narrative.
“We would not be here and this would not be national news if this were a group of Black people that jumped on other Black people,” Lynch, said. “Obviously it’s national news because it’s been racialized.”
Lynch said critics were focused on the Black participants, but haven’t mentioned a White man who could be seen in a video of the brawl slapping a Black man.
“Nobody’s asking, ‘Why didn’t he just walk away?’” Lynch said.
Councilmember Scotty Johnson criticized the media for amplifying the brawl. “What role do you play in quoting misdirected national leaders talking about a city that is on the right track, but they are doing everything they can to try take us off that track?” Johnson said.
A reporter asked Pureval how he would deal with the racial tensions in the city that have been exacerbated by this brawl. Over the weekend, racially-oriented flyers stating, “Arm yourselves White citizens of Cincinnati,” were dropped off in Cincinnati neighborhoods including Madisonville, Avondale, and College Hill. Also, the FBI arrested a man in Dayton for threatening to kill 30,000 Black people in Cincinnati over the past weekend.
“It’s overt racial tensions that have been enflamed by irresponsible leaders, who have unfortunately, cynically tried to take advantage of this awful fight and try and divide us,” Pureval said, noting that Cincinnati “has a long history of being on the very front of racial justice” including as a stop on the Underground Railroad.
In a FOX 19 interview with Tricia Macke on Sunday, the woman who was beaten during the downtown brawl talked about the incident.
In a new update Sunday, Holly told Macke: “I just want to say I am healing. Definitely today I’ve been able to move around. It’s been a very, very, very rough week.
“I’ve been in and out of the hospitals, seeing specialists. I have more specialists to see.
“I just want to say that for so long, I think so many of us have felt really hopeless and helpless … I think evil has really run rampant and I think that there are so many people that love to hate, you know, they are on social media. They want to ramp each other up and encourage hate out there.
“I don’t hate the people that did this to me. I know…it sucks and there were definitely some people involved, and when they are in jail, I’ve been praying for them everyday.”
Chief Theetge said investigators have determined there were six victims, who suffered “unimaginable physical violence” – five men and one woman (Holly).
The FBI is also looking into the incident to see if there are potential Civil Rights violations. If federal authorities conclude there were Civil Rights violations, they can file formal charges.
When white people get beat up by mainly black people the news has to blow it up.
Cincinnati and most of America has a big violence problem.
So what clean up Cincy fighting in public might go viral.
I do agree that the white man’s starting it was left out of the news.
Keep ya hands off each other.
Nice article that answers many questions.
We gotta get our city in a better place.