Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the Department of Justice, announced Sunday that the DOJ will monitor how local authorities investigate a brutal attack on a white man and woman by a group of Black individuals in downtown Cincinnati Friday night.
The beatings, which were caught on video, quickly went viral. Dhillon posted, “Our federal hate crimes laws apply to ALL Americans. We @CivilRights will monitor closely how local authorities handle this attack. Nobody in our great nation should be the victim of such a crime, and where race is a motivation, federal law may apply.”
Ohio Senator Calls Out Silence
Senator Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) criticized Cincinnati’s Democrat mayor, Aftab Pureval, for remaining silent.
“The Mayor of Cincinnati… has not issued a statement, let alone a condemnation, of this heinous attack,” Moreno said, calling on local leaders to focus on public safety instead of “dreaming about higher office.”
Viral Video Sparks Outrage
The video shows a white man being beaten on the ground and a white woman lying unconscious with blood on her face. The violence took place near 4th and Elm Streets during a downtown music festival Friday night—one of the city’s largest annual events.
The footage was first posted by Cory Bowman, a Republican running for Cincinnati mayor and the half-brother of Vice President J.D. Vance. Bowman placed second in the May primary and will face Mayor Pureval in November.
Police Union Confirms Ongoing Probe
Cincinnati’s police union said investigators have spoken to the victims and are working around the clock to identify everyone involved.
“There are still people that have not been identified,” said FOP President Ken Kober. “We need the public’s help.”
Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at (513) 352-3040 or Central Business District Investigators at (513) 352-5445.
Bowman Slams City Leadership
In a detailed post, Bowman blamed the city’s leadership for failing to protect residents. He said no dispatcher was assigned to the festival Friday night despite it being one of the city’s largest events.
Bowman also revealed that police were instructed not to arrest juveniles or cite parents for curfew violations. Officers were reportedly told not to bring offenders to juvenile detention, leaving police to “babysit” until parents arrived—if they showed up at all.
He accused city officials of pushing “catch-and-release” policies that embolden criminals and demoralize police.
Activist Claims Victim Started It
Activist Tariq Nasheed claimed the incident began when a white man slapped a Black man after an argument between the two groups.
Bowman’s Plan to Restore Safety
Bowman outlined his plan for reform:
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End ineffective alternative policing programs
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Return full control of dispatch operations to police
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Empower officers to fully enforce the law
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Pressure prosecutors to abandon catch-and-release
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Increase active community patrols
