Vice President JD Vance has addressed the shocking downtown altercation that gained widespread attention on social media over the weekend.
On Monday, Vance was in northeast Ohio to endorse President Donald Trump’s significant tax cuts and budget proposal, often referred to as the “one big, beautiful bill.”
During a press conference, he was asked about a large group of black individuals who violently assaulted three white individuals. The footage of this violent event circulated widely on social media, leading to condemnation from figures such as Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno and Elon Musk.
“There was a group of individuals who attacked a few people on the street in Cincinnati. Senator Bernie Moreno and others have expressed their concerns and criticisms regarding this incident,” a reporter inquired.
“Alright, alright, yes, yes. From what I observed, and I have not seen the complete context, it appeared to be a mob of lawless individuals assaulting an innocent person, which is appalling. I hope that every single person involved in this violence is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. And they will be, provided that law enforcement in Ohio takes their responsibilities seriously,” Vance stated.
“I am aware that Dave Yost is very concerned about these matters. However, you are correct; Bernie did share a clip of this incident with me, and we had a brief discussion about it. I do not know the complete context or how the altercation began. However, one particularly disturbing moment I witnessed was when a grown man struck a middle-aged woman unexpectedly. In my view, when a grown man resorts to sucker-punching a middle-aged woman, that individual deserves to face significant legal consequences,” Vance asserted.
“To be honest, he is fortunate that there were not more capable individuals present, as they would have managed the situation themselves. However, if they are unwilling to take action, it falls upon the police in Cincinnati and law enforcement to prosecute offenders. We have witnessed an excessive amount of lawlessness in the streets of our great American cities. How many of you have hesitated to visit downtown Akron, downtown Canton, or downtown Columbus for a meal due to concerns that local authorities in these major cities have permitted lawlessness to flourish?” he remarked.
Vance further stated, “We must restore safety to our great American cities for the sake of families and children. If you wish to take your wife or children out for a meal, you should not have to fear street violence. The only way to eradicate this street violence is to apprehend the criminals who perpetrate it and ensure they are incarcerated.”
Five individuals have been charged in relation to a brutal assault on a street in Cincinnati, following the viral spread of video footage depicting the incident.
The names of the individuals have not been released, and Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge refrained from specifying the charges, cautioning that additional arrests are probable.
“We have charged five individuals and expect more to follow,” Theetge informed reporters on Monday, two days after the incident that occurred at 3 a.m. on Saturday, which she described as a “fight.”
Based on online recordings, the “fight” featured a crowd stomping on the head of a man who was curled up on a downtown street, while a woman was struck and rendered unconscious, with blood flowing from her mouth after she attempted to intervene.
Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy stated that he had a conversation with the woman who was knocked out, asserting that she was a mother named Holly who informed him that “not a single local or state official had yet reached out” to her, apart from “one police detective.”
“She is a single working mother who attended a friend’s birthday celebration,” the former GOP presidential candidate remarked. “It is unacceptable that there were no police officers present in that part of Cincinnati on a Friday night, nor even an ambulance to transport her to the hospital.”
Ken Kober, president of the Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police, told WLWT that the victims sustained “quite serious injuries” and would be “in recovery for some time.”