5 people charged in 'vicious' brawl in Cincinnati that sparked safety
debate in the city
[July 30, 2025]
By JULIE CARR SMYTH and ALI SWENSON
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Five people have been charged in a bloody,
late-night brawl in downtown Cincinnati over the weekend that involved
dozens of people and raised concerns about crime in the Ohio city.
A video of the fight early Saturday shows a crowd milling about before
several people start throwing punches. One man falls to the ground and
was repeatedly punched and kicked by bystanders. Another woman is
punched in the face and falls to the ground, lying motionless before
another woman helps her. She can be seeing bleeding from the mouth.
“I am outraged by the vicious fight that occurred downtown,” Cincinnati
Mayor Aftab Pureval said in a statement. “It is horrifying to watch, and
this is unacceptable and disgusting behavior is intolerable in any part
of our community.”
Three days after the brawl, the city has released little information
about it other than to say it was not related to a Cincinnati Reds game,
a basketball tournament or a jazz festival that attracted over 150,000
people to the city. It said five people have been charged in the brawl
but only two had been arrested as of Tuesday.
Police Chief Teresa Theetge said more people would be charged, warning
that anyone who “put their hands on another individual during this
incident in an attempt to cause harm will face consequences." She also
suggested some bar owners may be culpable for over-serving participants
in the confrontation, which occurred about 3 a.m. Saturday.
Theetge appeared on the defensive during the news conference,
complaining the brawl was getting all the attention and “undoing all the
good stuff that happened this weekend.” She also complained that
bystanders took many videos but that only one person called 911. Police
responded to the scene after the fight was over, about six minutes after
the call.
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Incumbent Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval participates in a candidate
forum with Brian Frank hosted by the Cincinnati NAACP, Tuesday,
April 15, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster,File)
“For us to get one phone call about this incident is unacceptable in
this city,” she said.
The video of the brawl quickly turned political. Vice President JD
Vance’s half brother Cory Bowman, who is running to be Cincinnati’s
mayor, flagged the fight on social media on Saturday and blamed city
leadership for creating an unsafe environment.
“For many, these images sparked shock and disbelief,” he said in a
statement. “For residents within our city limits, they serve as a
stark reminder of the ongoing crime and lawlessness we've had to
endure this summer.”
Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights at
U.S. Justice Department, posted on X above an image of the video
that “EVERY American is entitled to the equal protection of our
laws. Federal law enforcement is on it and we will ensure that
justice is done.”
The videos also became a flashpoint among conservatives online,
despite a lack of available details about the incident. Political
influencers pointed to it as an example of apparent Black-on-white
violence and criticized media coverage of the fight.
“Why zero stories?” billionaire X owner Elon Musk wrote on his
social platform on Sunday. Grok, Musk’s AI chatbot, fanned the
flames, claiming in an X post the same day that the “media blackout”
of the story was “telling.”
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Swenson reported from New York.
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