Victim in viral Cincinnati street brawl now charged in case, police say
The unidentified 45-year-old White man is charged with disorderly conduct, a fourth-degree misdemeanor, for his alleged role in the July 26 melee in the city's downtown.
Police said his status as a victim in the beating prevents them from releasing his name under Marsy's Law, which gives crime victims the option to have their names withheld from public release.
He is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 26.
The fight broke out in the early morning hours on the corner of Fourth and Elm streets. Footage of the brawl quickly went viral.
Last week, a seventh suspect, Gregory Wright, 32, was charged with alleged aggravated riot and aggravated robbery.
Police allege Wright "did by force rip the necklace off the victim while he was being assaulted by four or more co-defendants attempting to cause serious physical harm," according to a criminal complaint obtained by Fox 19.
Wright allegedly snatched the victim's necklace during the beating before proceeding "to film the rest of the events," the outlet reported.
Earlier this month, six defendants were indicted by a grand jury for their alleged roles in the beatdown.
Patrick Rosemond, 38, Jermaine Matthews, 39, Montianez Merriweather, 34, DeKyra Vernon, 24, Dominique Kittle, 37, and Aisha Devaughn, 25, are each charged with three counts of alleged felonious assault, three charges of assault and two charges of aggravated rioting, the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office confirmed to Fox News Digital.
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
If the races were reversed, would you be as outraged about the downtown brawl?
The footage from Fourth and Elm wasn't just another late-night brawl. It spread wildly across the country because it struck a raw American wound: race. A group of Black people beating a white man, a white woman knocked unconscious − those images tap our inherited fears and our learned biases. Pretending otherwise is dishonest. And dishonesty is exactly how we keep ending up here, talking past each other in different languages instead of moving with a shared purpose rooted in our common humanity and love for this city. Cincinnati − and America − still handles race like a hot stove: quick touches, lots of flinching, and no real repair. We swap slogans, not truth. We all suffer from racial battle fatigue. That's why moments like this fracture our community. We default to competing storylines designed to vindicate our side rather than illuminate what happened and what it means. We still don't know how the July 26 confrontation began. What sparked the initial beef between the men involved? Those details may surface in court. But even with incomplete facts, one thing is clear: Race is not a footnote in this incident. It's a live wire running through it. More: What started fight in Cincinnati? City is focus after brawl videos go viral. What we know Why Cincinnati brawl clip went viral If the races were reversed − white people pummeling a Black man − the video would still make national news. It just might be circulated 24/7 by MSNBC instead of Fox News, and the tone would almost certainly be different, shaped by America's brutal history of racial violence against Black people. White residents who say the reaction among some would've changed aren't imagining things. They're noticing how history shapes our headlines and our hearts. That admission doesn't diminish what happened here; it helps explain why it detonated online and on cable news. The video wasn't just violence; it was symbolism. A quick, convenient story has taken off: That white people were attacked simply for being white and downtown. That may comfort certain political arguments, but it flattens reality. What we do know is that a white man used a racial slur during the chaos. Many believe that the act poured gasoline on an already hot situation. Here are two truths grown-ups should be able to hold at once: Using a slur never justifies a mob beating. And hurling a slur at Black people in 2025 − given the history and the temperature of our times − rarely leads anywhere good. Acknowledging the latter is not "victim-blaming;" it's a sober account of how inflammatory language can escalate danger, especially when alcohol is involved. We can condemn the violence without excusing the slur. We can condemn the slur without excusing the violence. Accountability is not a one-lane street. Letter: The Cincinnati brawl exposed more than violence. It exposed our values Everyone involved must be called out for what they chose to do, not for what we want them to symbolize in some broader culture war. That includes those who threw punches and kicks − and the man who slapped another person and hurled a word that has been used to degrade and dehumanize for centuries. A Hamilton County assistant prosecutor noted last week that unreleased video shows the slapper himself being harassed before everything went down. That may matter in court, but outside the courtroom, we can still say plainly that none of this conduct is acceptable. Equal dignity demands that we speak against all of it − the violence, the slurs and the escalating provocation − because each choice poured fuel on a fire that has burned our entire city. And it's not just about those directly involved. The rest of us − neighbors, leaders, and media alike − have a responsibility to resist the urge to excuse "our side" and instead call wrong what is wrong, no matter who commits it. Check your outrage We each owe ourselves a hard question: If the races were different, would my outrage be the same? If your answer is no, ask why. Bias doesn't just live in people we dislike; it lives in the mirrors hanging in our own homes. The test of principle is whether it survives a change in the players involved. Some Cincinnatians are processing the "brawl" against a backdrop of broader anxiety about crime in Downtown and Over-the-Rhine. The perception is that violent crime is out of control. There is also a perception − fueled by daily news reports showing mostly Black suspects in handcuffs or standing before a judge − that the face of crime is Black. The statistics don't help: The majority of people charged with murder in Hamilton County are Black, and most gun violence in our city is perpetrated on Black people. So when a white or Black Cincinnatian closes their eyes and envisions "a criminal," odds are they see a Black face. Letter: I'm a white woman who feels safe in downtown Cincinnati despite the hysteria For law-abiding Black citizens, that stereotype stings. Too often, Black people are lumped in with the worst among us, judged not as individuals but by the crimes of those who share our skin color. I reject that. Most Black people I know follow the law and, in many cases, are the very victims of the crimes that others fear. Black residents probably call the police just as much, if not more, than anybody. That's why we must resist the temptation to paint an entire race with a broad brush. And that caution cuts both ways − Blacks stereotyping whites is no more just or accurate. This incident was politicized and racialized from the start. That's not an accident. Bad actors on the left and right rush in to monetize outrage and build followers. Hate groups − from the Ku Klux Klan to neo-Nazis − circulate flyers and posts to recruit from our pain. Criminals benefit when communities spiral into mutual suspicion; it means fewer witnesses, thinner trust, and more space to operate. Meanwhile, Cincinnati suffers because too many of us would rather win the argument than win each other. What honesty demands now Honesty asks something harder than choosing sides. We must name race without weaponizing it. Say out loud that this video struck a nerve because race matters in America − and in Cincinnati. Not to excuse anything, but to explain why it feels like a five-alarm fire. We must also reject narrative spinning. Don't turn a slur into a defense for assault. Don't turn a brutal beating into proof that every downtown resident is a target. Both moves are dishonest − and both make tomorrow more dangerous. We must hold facts and empathy together. We need both: what happened, and what it felt like to those involved and watching. Opinion: What happened downtown was racial violence, and we must say it We must also practice civility and moral courage. Listen to people you'd rather silence. Sit in rooms where you'll hear things you don't like. Ask a sincere follow-up instead of assuming the worst. That's not weakness; it's how we heal. To avoid repeating our mistakes, we must learn to speak together in a language that centers equal dignity and shared stakes. That means making space for uncomfortable facts: race influenced how this started, how it spiraled, how it was covered, and how we reacted. It also means choosing a different path forward. We must demand principled leadership, not performative threats. We need solutions that reduce harm and restore trust − credible prosecutions, transparent communication, and concrete prevention strategies − rather than grandstanding that treats Cincinnati like a political prop. And we must measure our success by the repair. In other words, if our "wins" leave us more divided, they aren't wins. Real success looks like fewer viral videos, fewer opportunists feasting on our anger, and more neighbors who can disagree without dehumanizing each other. We can be honest about the role race played here without turning this city into a permanent battlefield. We can hold people accountable without surrendering to the cheapest storylines. And we can insist that Cincinnati is worth more than the clicks, the clout, and the chaos that others hope to wring out of our pain. The fight at Fourth and Elm is a test. Not just of what we believe about race and justice, but of whether we love this city enough to tell each other the truth − and to stay in the room long enough to do something about it. Opinion and Engagement Editor Kevin S. Aldridge can be reached at kaldridge@ On X: @kevaldrid. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: The Cincinnati brawl went viral because race still matters | Opinion
Miami Herald
2 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Nazi salute video gets five Canadian soldiers suspended, officials say
Five active members of the Canadian Army have been suspended after a video from 2023 emerged of them performing a Nazi salute, according to officials. Lieutenant-General Michael Wright, commander of the Canadian Army, said the video showing 'hateful conduct' was brought to his attention by a member of the public Aug. 6 and was immediately sent to military police for further investigation, according to a statement shared with McClatchy news on Aug. 19. 'One individual can be seen performing drill in front of the Royal 22e Régiment flag and then consuming a substance,' Wright said. Later on, 'other individuals perform the Nazi salute,' he said. Five individuals have been suspended from military duties, pending an active investigation by the unit, according to Wright. 'Once the facts have been confirmed, all appropriate action will be taken,' Wright said. Though the events happened about two years ago, Wright said the individuals are still 'subject to administrative and disciplinary action that may lead to their release.' 'I am deeply disturbed and profoundly disappointed with the content of the video,' Wright said, calling the behavior 'completely unacceptable.' 'Hateful conduct and extremism have no place in the Canadian Army,' Wright said. 'It hurts our ability to recruit the best of Canada, to maintain credibility to deliver on operations, and it erodes public trust in our institution.' 'Canadian Army members who jeopardize that trust and participate in hateful conduct will face the consequences of their actions,' Wright said. Data from the Canadian Armed Force's internal Hateful Conduct Incident Tracking System shows reported incidents nearly doubled from 2023 to 2024 following several years of steady decline, the CBC reported. Engaging in hate speech and propaganda accounted for 26 of the 54 reported incidents in 2024, the outlet reported.]
Fox News
4 hours ago
- Fox News
SCOOP: White House touts guns and drug haul removed from DC streets as Trump's crime blitz nets 550 arrests
FIRST ON FOX: More than 550 arrests have been made in the nation's capital amid President Donald Trump's crime crackdown that began earlier in August, including officials recovering illegal firearms and removing drugs from the streets, photos shared with Fox News Digital show. Local police and federal law enforcement officers in the city have made more than 550 arrests since Aug. 7, including the apprehensions of three known gangbangers, one of whom was an MS-13 member, according to White House data provided Wednesday to Fox News Digital. "Thanks to President Trump's bold actions to Make DC Safe Again, more than 550 dangerous criminals have been removed from the streets of our nation's capital," White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital Wednesday of the arrests. "While the Fake News tried to sell a lie that D.C. was safe, these arrests reveal the truth," she continued. "Hundreds of violent criminals have been arrested by federal law enforcement agents for carrying illegal weapons, distributing deadly drugs, committing armed robbery, and having ties to dangerous gangs like MS-13. President Trump is making DC safe again by enforcing the law and everyday Americans support his commonsense, tough-on-crime policies." Tuesday evening's sweep of the city included 91 arrests, Fox News Digital learned, including 25 arrests of illegal aliens. Many of the illegal aliens arrested had prior criminal histories, according to the White House, including multiple illegal reentries, and a threat to kidnap or injure a person, destruction of property, burglary, possession of drugs and driving while intoxicated. The White House exclusively shared photos of items recovered during the Tuesday arrests, which included a backpack teeming with baggies of confirmed illegal substances, handguns and a knife. The White House told Fox News Digital that law enforcement has removed substances stretching from marijuana, cocaine, meth and fentanyl from D.C. streets since the crime crackdown began Aug. 7. All in, law enforcement recovered eight illegal firearms Tuesday evening, and made arrests for crimes such as an assault on a police officer, armed robbery, carrying a pistol without license, assault with deadly weapon, driving under the influence and for outstanding arrest warrants related to "Child Abuse (Death)" and involuntary manslaughter charges. A total of 48 homeless encampments across the city have been removed as of Wednesday, Fox News Digital learned. Trump federalized the Washington, D.C. police department Aug. 11 amid a trend of high-profile attacks and killings in the city following the wild crime trends that erupted in the U.S.' notoriously bloody year of 2020. The more than 550 arrests are part of Trump's March executive order, which established the Making D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, ahead of the president federalizing the city in August. Hundreds of National Guard members, as well as the Metropolitan Police Department and personnel from federal agencies, such as the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Capitol Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, have taken to the streets of D.C. to conduct sweeps and root out crime. The National Guard is not making arrests, but is assisting law enforcement with deterring crime and protecting the city. There were more than 1,950 law enforcement officials who took part in Tuesday night's sweeps and arrests, Fox News Digital learned. The crackdown is anticipated to continue heating up, including the U.S. Marshals Service offering $500 rewards to individuals who are able to provide tips that lead to arrests. Democrats have slammed Trump over the federalization of the city's police department, claiming crime data show violence is trending downward. The Metropolitan Police Department's crime data is currently under Department of Justice investigation in response to claims the force manipulated the data to produce more favorable crime trends in recent months, Fox News reported Tuesday. Trump had threatened to federalize the D.C. police department in the weeks leading up to his final decision, citing a handful of high-profile crimes that have rocked the city, including the fatal shooting of 21-year-old congressional intern Eric Tarpinian-Jachym in June; the fatal shooting of a pair of Israeli embassy staffers in May; and a brutal attack on a former Department of Government Efficiency staffer earlier in August. Trump championed the crime crackdown in a press conference Aug. 11, when he first announced he would federalize the local police department under section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, which allows the president to assume emergency control of the capital's police force for 30 days. "Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people," Trump said Aug. 11. "And we're not going to let it happen anymore. We're not going to take it."
