Sheriff says 'no law being violated' by swastika flyers in Evendale, residents furious and on edge
The community town hall did little to quell resident's concerns. Some residents are on edge and taking their safety into their own hands after an armed group flew swastika flags on the border of the historically Black village last week.
Residents questioned why police did not arrest or cite anyone from the group, who witnesses said arrived on the overpass in the back of a U-Haul truck wearing all black and armed with AR-15-style rifles. They also expressed concerns about continued sightings and crime in the area over the weekend, saying the group has continued to antagonize the community with little action by law enforcement.
The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, whose deputies patrol Lincoln Heights, and the Evendale Police Department were at the center of the overpass demonstration, keeping residents separated from the demonstrators.
Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey condemned the group's actions during the town hall – repeatedly calling them Nazis − but pushed back as residents insisted the demonstrators broke the law.
Sheriff's lieutenant Mike Steers said there was "no law being violated" by the group. Steers said that the Ohio law only prohibits passengers younger than 16 years old from riding in the back of a U-Haul without a seatbelt. Evendale police, whose chief was not at the town hall, said in a statement Friday that because the protest was on the sidewalk, it was not unlawful.
The sheriff said an investigation is ongoing and her office is "talking to the FBI" to try and identify the demonstrators. They have impounded a demonstrator's Jeep and are inventorying it, McGuffey said.
McGuffey declined to answer questions from The Enquirer after the town hall about next steps or whether the demonstrators would face charges. Evendale Police Chief Tim Holloway did not return a text asking why he was not at the town hall.
After Friday, Lincoln Height's residents said during the town hall they're concerned about the demonstrators driving through the neighborhood and causing damage or harm.
Carlton Collins told The Enquirer he feels like the community is not getting the protection it needs. He said several car windows were smashed in a parking lot Saturday and there have been sightings of cars driving through with swastika flags throughout the weekend.
Instead of relying solely on the sheriff's office, some residents have turned toward one another.
At a prayer march Sunday, community members armed with shotguns, rifles and other guns stood on the perimeter keeping watch. Ahead of the town hall, men armed with rifles stood on the edge of town watching.
McGuffey said the sheriff's office has started increased patrols of the area since Friday. She also said she will create a task force with Lincoln Heights leaders and others to address these issues going forward.
Eric Ruffin, whose office is off the exit where the demonstration was Friday, said he became concerned for his safety and that of his daughter after being accosted by the group at a stoplight. Ruffin said the demonstrators began yelling racial slurs at him while he sat at the light.
"People refuse to understand this is a precursor to something more. I was by myself, but what if it was my daughter alone? It makes me feel helpless," Ruffin said.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 'No law being violated' by swastika flyers on Friday. Lincoln Heights left on edge
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Kate Merrill lawsuit: Microaggression vs. discrimination
In this case, the meteorologist, Jason Mikell, allegedly took offense at her correction and, according to the lawsuit, confronted her by 'loudly yelling at her on the studio floor and asserting that she was being critical of him.' After she complained to human resources about his reaction, she subsequently learned that she was under investigation for other alleged microaggressions. Faced with demotion from the anchor desk, she quit and is now suing WBZ, CBS, and its parent company, Paramount Global, along with several former colleagues for discrimination, saying she lost her career in television journalism because she is white. Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up Advertisement What if everyone involved had simply tried to talk to each other instead of marching to HR to lodge a complaint? Is there no middle ground where people of basic good will can meet, talk, and move on? Without it, this country is going to swing back and forth between the extremes of cancel culture, where every utterance can be taken as an expression of bias, and the anti-DEI fervor, led by President Trump, that is empowering a new class of aggrieved white people. Are microaggressions teachable moments? Or is someone charged with launching them so beyond redemption that they are unworthy of employment? Addressing a School Committee chair and her assistant as 'ladies' cost Vito Perrone, a candidate for school superintendent in Easthampton, a job offer in 2023. Former state treasurer Shannon O'Brien was fired as chair of the Cannabis Control Commission in 2024 for alleged grievances that included suggesting to a Black commission member that she would know a lawmaker who was also Black. Advertisement In Merrill's lawsuit, the former anchor said she learned that Mikell, who is named as a defendant, had complained that she welcomed him to Boston by saying he would 'find his people.' She contends she only meant he would 'create a community of friends' but he interpreted it differently. Courtney Cole, another Black colleague who is named in the suit, was allegedly upset because Merrill said she should go to Nashville where she could become the main anchor, a statement that Cole interpreted as implying she would be a better racial fit in Nashville. Saying nothing was also a problem for Merrill. For example, Mikell also allegedly complained that Merrill did not ask him about his weekends. Other complaints involved allegations that Merrill rolled her eyes when talking to people of color and did not greet people of color when they entered a room. In her lawsuit, Merrill also said that when Mikell was hired, he allegedly told her he had never been to Boston before, asked for help in getting acclimated, and specifically asked for help with pronouncing local town names. Since a television meteorologist is part of a news broadcast, proper pronunciation does matter. 'There's always been a certain charm about the peculiar spellings and unusual pronunciations of local city and town names, but on-air reporters' failing to say them correctly can undermine the reporter's credibility and authenticity for people who live here and call into question other aspects of the reporter's work,' Marjorie Arons-Barron, the longtime WCVB editorial director who is now a blogger, told me. 'Faith in our institutions, including media, is already low enough.' Advertisement Mispronouncing Concord, if that's what happened, isn't the end of journalism. But even in a weather report, it would be better to say it correctly. There should be some way to tell someone that. Joan Vennochi is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Widow of tragic NYPD cop killed in Park Avenue mass shooting gives birth to ‘beautiful baby boy'
The widow of the NYPD cop tragically killed in the Park Avenue mass shooting has given birth to the couple's third son, Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday morning. Slain NYPD Officer Didarul Islam's wife, Jamila Akhter, went into labor Sunday night and welcomed a 'beautiful baby boy' at Mount Sinai Hospital, Adams said at an unrelated press conference. 'On a happier note, we learned that Officer Islam's wife gave birth to a young, beautiful baby boy,' Adams told reporters during a briefing on another mass shooting in the city, this time in Brooklyn on Sunday. Advertisement 3 Tragic slain NYPD cop Didarul Islam poses with sons Azhaan, 5 and Ahyan, 7. Obtained by the New York Post 'I stopped by the hospital in the lobby yesterday to talk with family members, mother was in labor, and we're really excited that she gave birth to a beautiful, young child.' The couple already shared two young boys — Ahyan, 7, and Azhaan, 5 — who idolized their dad. Advertisement 'We want to continue to let them know God works in mysterious ways,' Adams said of Islam's family. 'And as mayor, I want to assure the detective and his family that we're doing to continue to be there for them. 'They are our family and the family of this great city, New York,' said Adams, a former NYPD captain. Islam, 36, was working an approved off-duty security job the evening of July 28 when gunman Shane Tamura walked into the lobby of the skyscraper that houses the NFL headquarters at East 51 Street and Park Avenue in Manhattan and opened fire with an AR-15. Tamura rattled off 47 rounds, killing Islam and three other people – building security guard Aland Etienne, Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner and Rudin Management worker Julia Hyman — and injuring one more before he fatally turned the gun on himself on the 33rd floor. Advertisement 3 The wife and other family members of Officer Islam mourn at his funeral. REUTERS Tamura, 27, who worked at the Horseshoe hotel and casino in Las Vegas, had no affiliation with the NFL but played football in high school and blamed the league for covering up chronic traumatic encephalopathy, also known as CTE, a brain disease caused by repetitive head trauma that he believed he suffered from. It's not yet clear if Tamura had the disease. Islam's sons beamed with pride over their father's NYPD employment, with little Ahyan donning the Police Department's blues while at his preschool in Bronxdale, said a teacher who taught both boys in The Bronx. Advertisement 3 Islam was remembered as a hero and dedicated father. NYPD 'He said, 'I wear my police uniform just like my dad,'' teacher Tajwattie Singh had told The Post. Islam was posthumously promoted to detective first grade and remembered by NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch for serving 'with steadiness, with heart, with conviction' during his somber funeral.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump is targeting sanctuary cities to settle political scores and potentially arrest his opponents
It's not about immigration – or rather, it's not just about immigration. Pam Bondi, the US attorney general, sent letters this week to dozens of cities and counties around the country, warning them that their leaders could be prosecuted and federal funds stripped from their cities if they don't 'cooperate' with Donald Trump's deportation scheme. The threats against cities come amid a backdrop of a crackdown on crime in Washington DC, where Trump, after similar actions in Los Angeles, has sent in the military against the wishes of local leaders. The attacks on cities will not stop with Washington. Using immigration as a pretext, the Trump administration wants to go after Democratic-run cities across the country to settle political scores, assert the president as a strongman and, potentially, arrest his opponents. 'Individuals operating under the color of law, using their official position to obstruct federal immigration enforcement efforts and facilitating or inducing illegal immigration may be subject to criminal charges,' Bondi wrote. Or, as Bondi told Fox News after the letters were sent, she is telling local leaders: 'You better be abiding by our federal policies and with our federal law enforcement, because if you aren't, we're going to come after you.' In DC, the administration drew a lawsuit over its takeover of the city's police force, after Bondi sought to end sanctuary policies that prevent local law enforcement from sharing information with immigration officials about people in custody. Related: How Trump is using 'pure lies' about high crime in US cities to justify federal takeovers If the Trump administration moves forward with threats to charge local officials, it would be an escalation of Trump's long-simmering war on cities. The president has sought to paint cities as liberal 'hellholes' in need of liberation, delivered through military takeovers and arrests. On the campaign trail in 2024, Trump often went on diatribes against cities, calling out specific places that he wanted to target. In one speech from early 2024, he promised to 'take over the horribly run capital of our nation' and said he would 'rebuild our cities into beacons of hope, safety and beauty – better than they have ever been before'. He continued this tradition this week, naming majority Democratic cities run by Black mayors – Baltimore, Oakland, Los Angeles, Chicago – and putting them on notice that he could come there next. Bondi's letter spells out what cities are facing financially if they defy the president: Trump has directed federal agencies to look at their statutory ability to tie 'immigration-related terms and conditions' to 'combat sanctuary policies' when they are doling out federal grants, contracts and funds. Trump's allies who wrote Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for a second Trump administration, suggested using this tactic to force cities, counties and states to aid immigration enforcement. In his first administration, Trump tried to use a justice department grant program this way, but the plan was tied up in court for years. Cities are ready to fight back. They have been in court defending their rights to create local policies that prevent their police forces from carrying out Trump's immigration agenda. Localities that received the letter have said it mischaracterizes their policies and ignores local control. Bruce Harrell, Seattle's mayor, said his city will remain a 'welcoming city for all' and will continue to defend itself in court if needed. And if Trump brings troops to their streets, they say they will be ready to push back. 'We will be prepared to take any legal and any other action that we need to take,' said Brandon Scott, Baltimore's mayor, in a press call on Thursday. 'And I know that my brother and sister mayors around the country feel the same way.'
