Latest news with #JulianArmandCook
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio town orders review of police response to neo-Nazi demonstrators
A small Ohio municipality has apologized for not publicly responding to neo-Nazi demonstrators, some holding flags with swastikas, who marched in town recently, and ordered an independent review of how police handled the matter. Residents had urged officials in Evendale, a suburb of Cincinnati, to explain what prompted the protest and why no one was arrested in the Feb. 7 incident that ended when a group of Black residents confronted the marchers and burned their flags. 'We apologize about not meeting or speaking to you sooner about the problems,' Mayor Richard Finan said in a Monday news conference, adding that officials wanted to determine what transpired before addressing the public. 'We want to improve, make things better and see if we did anything wrong on that day,' he said. About a dozen black-clad demonstrators, some of whom were armed and holding Nazi flags, marched on a freeway overpass before being confronted by a larger group of Black residents, some of whom were also armed. The march took place near Lincoln Heights, a historically Black community. Black leaders and residents in the Cincinnati metro area said they were frustrated that the demonstrators were allowed to march at all and requested an investigation into the response by Evendale police and Hamilton County sheriff's deputies. The Rev. Julian Armand Cook, of Lincoln Heights Missionary Baptist Church, who was not involved in the confrontation, said he found the demonstration disturbing. 'To see it show up at the gateway to this historic community, the first, the oldest Black, self-governed city north of the Mason-Dixon Line, it is very clear what message it is sending,' he told NBC News earlier this month. 'So it was — I was angry. I was hurt. I was shocked.' Evendale police have said no laws were broken and officers were obligated to protect the demonstrators' First Amendment right to free speech. 'Any public space can suddenly become the location of a demonstration,' Evendale Police Chief Timothy Holloway said at the news conference. 'These sort of demonstrations are always a possibility.' Evendale officials said they have hired Chicago-based 21CP Solutions, a public safety consulting firm, to conduct the review. The process will take about three months, they said. 'What happened in Lincoln Heights was awful, heinous, hurtful, hateful, use the word you want to describe,' Evendale Council Member Chris Patterson said. 'It's something that none of us liked and we are absolutely committed to doing what we can to reassure the community." Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval condemned the actions of the protesters shortly after the demonstration ended. 'Messages of hate like this have no place in our region. It was shocking and disgusting to see swastikas displayed in Evendale,' he wrote on X. 'This is not what we stand for, and it will never be what we stand for.' This article was originally published on
NBC News
25-02-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Ohio town orders review of police response to neo-Nazi demonstrators
A small Ohio municipality has apologized for not publicly responding to neo-Nazi demonstrators, some holding flags with swastikas, who marched in town recently, and ordered an independent review of how police handled the matter. Residents had urged officials in Evendale, a suburb of Cincinnati, to explain what prompted the protest and why no one was arrested in the Feb. 7 incident that ended when a group of Black residents confronted the marchers and burned their flags. 'We apologize about not meeting or speaking to you sooner about the problems,' Mayor Richard Finan said in a Monday news conference, adding that officials wanted to determine what transpired before addressing the public. 'We want to improve, make things better and see if we did anything wrong on that day,' he said. About a dozen black-clad demonstrators, some of whom were armed and holding Nazi flags, marched on a freeway overpass before being confronted by a larger group of Black residents, some of whom were also armed. The march took place near Lincoln Heights, a historically Black community. Black leaders and residents in the Cincinnati metro area said they were frustrated that the demonstrators were allowed to march at all and requested an investigation into the response by Evendale police and Hamilton County sheriff's deputies. The Rev. Julian Armand Cook, of Lincoln Heights Missionary Baptist Church, who was not involved in the confrontation, said he found the demonstration disturbing. 'To see it show up at the gateway to this historic community, the first, the oldest Black, self-governed city north of the Mason-Dixon Line, it is very clear what message it is sending,' he told NBC News earlier this month. 'So it was — I was angry. I was hurt. I was shocked.' Evendale police have said no laws were broken and officers were obligated to protect the demonstrators' First Amendment right to free speech. 'Any public space can suddenly become the location of a demonstration,' Evendale Police Chief Timothy Holloway said at the news conference. 'These sort of demonstrations are always a possibility.' Evendale officials said they have hired Chicago-based 21CP Solutions, a public safety consulting firm, to conduct the review. The process will take about three months, they said. 'What happened in Lincoln Heights was awful, heinous, hurtful, hateful, use the word you want to describe,' Evendale Council Member Chris Patterson said. 'It's something that none of us liked and we are absolutely committed to doing what we can to reassure the community." Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval condemned the actions of the protesters shortly after the demonstration ended. 'Messages of hate like this have no place in our region. It was shocking and disgusting to see swastikas displayed in Evendale,' he wrote on X. 'This is not what we stand for, and it will never be what we stand for.'
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
After armed neo-Nazis get police protection, some Black residents in Ohio express disbelief
Some Black leaders and residents in greater Cincinnati expressed dismay after armed, masked neo-Nazis were allowed to gather on a freeway bridge without arrest. Some have called for a quick investigation of the response by Evendale police and Hamilton County sheriff's deputies after the demonstration Friday afternoon on the Interstate 75 overpass between the Village of Evendale and Lincoln Heights, the latter a historically Black community. The biggest question for critics of the response is why none of the neo-Nazi demonstrators was arrested after the group was confronted by community members, firearms on display on both sides. The Rev. Julian Armand Cook of Lincoln Heights Missionary Baptist Church said in an interview that the demonstration of hatred, which included swastika-adorned flags, was shocking. "To see it show up at the gateway to this historic community, the first, the oldest Black self-governed city north of the Mason-Dixon Line, it is very clear what message it is sending," he said. "So it was — I was angry. I was hurt. I was shocked." Evendale police said in a statement Tuesday that officers were bound to protect the First Amendment rights of demonstrators and that, even though the demonstration was carried out without a permit, it was legal. The police department said ticketing demonstrators for smaller matters such as transporting people in the back of a box truck — which they boarded as they left — without belted seats was overlooked in the name of preventing violence. The department did not address the nature of the demonstration, which some Black residents described as existentially threatening. Lincoln Heights resident Eric Ruffin said at Tuesday night's village meeting that one of the demonstrators called him a racial epithet. "Do you want a community you don't feel safe in?" he asked. The police department said officers were put in an incendiary situation that was resolved without injuries or loss of life. "One of the groups was heavily armed with multiple firearms and tensions among opposing groups were escalating," it said. "As such the overriding priority was to continue efforts to isolate groups, limit new participants and further deescalate the situation." To reach that goal, the department said, officers allowed a U-Haul box truck to safely get through counterdemonstrators, and an officer gave a ride to a neo-Nazi demonstrator who was told it was unsafe to return to a vehicle because counterdemonstrators were in the pathway. In a separate statement, Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey said de-escalating the situation on the bridge so no one was hurt was a top priority for responding deputies. "Lincoln Heights residents are understandably upset," she said. "We continue to work with the community, and emphasize that there is no place for hate in Hamilton County." The Village of Evendale has held two town hall meetings about the matter in two days, and the neo-Nazi demonstration was a topic of discussion for Hamilton County's Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday. "We had questions about why there was no arrests made when there were clear violations of the law," Cook said. State Rep. Cecil Thomas, D-Cincinnati, said he would support legislation to ensure authorities have tools they can use to arrest such demonstrators in the future. 'I can guarantee you we will get some action so that if this happens again, law enforcement will have the authority to take action,' he said at a community meeting Monday, according to NBC affiliate WLWT of Cincinnati. County Commissioner Alicia Reece, speaking at the commission meeting, supported calls for an investigation into the law enforcement response, saying demonstrators were made too comfortable. Residents, she argued, fended for themselves. "They had to go in they own house, get they own guns, go out there and risk they own life," Reece said at the meeting, captured on video she posted to Facebook. "And they felt the only thing that happened was a defense, in their mind, of the Nazis." Cook praised a community with a noted history of self-governance for taking care in the face of hatred. "What must be kept at the forefront of this story is the way this community stepped in to de-escalate this situation themselves, and they did it in a way that preserved their dignity and their integrity," he said. This article was originally published on
NBC News
12-02-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
After armed neo-Nazis get police protection, some Black residents in Ohio express disbelief
Some Black leaders and residents in greater Cincinnati expressed dismay after armed, masked neo-Nazis were allowed to gather on a freeway bridge without arrest. Some have called for a quick investigation of the response by Evendale police and Hamilton County Sheriff's Office deputies following the demonstration Friday afternoon on the Interstate 75 overpass between the Village of Evendale and Lincoln Heights, the latter a historically Black community. The biggest question for critics of the response is why none of the neo-Nazi demonstrators was arrested after the group was confronted by community members, firearms on display on both sides. Rev. Julian Armand Cook of the Lincoln Heights Missionary Baptist Church said in an interview that the demonstration of hatred, which included swastika-adorned flags, was shocking. "To see it show up at the gateway to this historic community, the first, the oldest Black, self-governed city north of the Mason-Dixon Line, it is very clear what message it is sending," he said. "So it was, I was angry. I was hurt. I was shocked." Evendale police said in a statement Tuesday that officers were bound to protect the First Amendment rights of demonstrators and that, even though the demonstration was carried out without a permit, it was legal. The police department said ticketing demonstrators for smaller matters such as transporting people in the back of a box truck — which they boarded as they left — without belted seats, was overlooked in the name of preventing violence. The department did not address the nature of the demonstration, which some Black residents described as existentially threatening. Lincoln Heights resident Eric Ruffin said at Tuesday night's village meeting that he was called a racial epithet by one of the demonstrators. "Do you want a community you don't feel safe in?" he asked. The police department said officers were put in an incendiary situation that was resolved without injuries or loss of life. "One of the groups was heavily armed with multiple firearms and tensions among opposing groups were escalating," it said. "As such the overriding priority was to continue efforts to isolate groups, limit new participants and further deescalate the situation." To reach that goal, the department said officers allowed a U-Haul box truck to safely get through counter-demonstrators, and an officer gave a ride to a neo-Nazi demonstrator who was told it was unsafe to return to a vehicle because counter-demonstrators were in the pathway. In a separate statement, Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey said de-escalating the situation on the bridge so no one was hurt was a top priority for responding deputies. "Lincoln Heights residents are understandably upset," she said. "We continue to work with the community, and emphasize that there is no place for hate in Hamilton County." The Village of Evendale has held two town hall meetings on the matter in two days, and the neo-Nazi demonstration was a topic of discussion for Hamilton County's Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday. "We had questions about why there was no arrests made when there were clear violations of the law," Cook said. Ohio state Rep. Cecil Thomas, D-Cincinnati, said he would support legislation to ensure authorities have tools they can use to arrest such demonstrators in the future. 'I can guarantee you we will get some action so that if this happens again, law enforcement will have the authority to take action,' he told a community meeting Monday, according to NBC affiliate WLWT of Cincinnati. County Commissioner Alicia Reece, speaking at the commission, supported calls for an investigation into the law enforcement response, saying demonstrators were made too comfortable. Residents, she argued, fended for themselves. "They had to go in they own house, get they own guns, go out there and risk they own life," Reece said at the meeting, captured on video she posted to Facebook. "And they felt the only thing that happened was a defense in their mind of the Nazis." Cook praised a community with a noted history of self-governance for taking care in the face of hatred. "What must be kept at the forefront of this story is the way this community stepped in to deescalate this situation themselves, and they did it in a way that preserved their dignity and their integrity," he said.
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lincoln Heights residents hold vigil, seek answers after white supremacist demonstration
In days following a white supremacist demonstration at the border of Evendale and Lincoln Heights, the site has become a monument for peace, a rallying point for those who stand against hate. Hundreds came together there Sunday to pray and signs of welcome and love now adorn the overpass fencing. The community still has questions about how those waving swastika flags were handled. Leaders in the historically Black community of Lincoln Heights plan to meet with the community Monday to address that and to process what happened together. "This sacred land has been violated," said Pastor Julian Armand Cook of the Lincoln Heights Missionary Baptist Church, who organized the prayer march Sunday afternoon. "So we are bringing God back to this place." The demonstration Friday quickly dissipated when Lincoln Heights residents came to the bridge, driving the group into the back of their truck. Since then, people have gathered at the site promoting messages of togetherness and love. After meeting at the corner of Mangham Drive and Adams Street, Cook led a march toward the center of the Interstate-75 overpass while men armed with rifles and shotguns stopped traffic and took control of the road. Local police and sheriff's deputies were parked nearby, then moved to close the road as a crowd of 200 surrounding several pastors and community leaders began to speak, sing and chant. Cook said police had told him they weren't allowed to go on the overpass, but they took a risk and "the angels made a way" for them. Evendale Police Chief Tim Holloway said he had not communicated anything other than support for the prayer service and had only expressed a preference they stay on the sidewalk. Holloway said no arrests were made or tickets given out Sunday. On Friday, a group of people in black with red face masks were seen holding black and red flags with swastikas over I-75. Lincoln Heights residents and others gathered to counter the demonstration. One person there said he saw armed police pushing them back while trying to keep the two groups separated. At one point, he said someone made it past police, snatched a swastika flag from a demonstrator and a group began spitting and stomping on it. Carlton Collins, who confronted the demonstrators on Friday, said Lincoln Heights' history is what made Friday so hurtful. It was the first all-Black, self-governing city in the North, just 15 miles away from downtown Cincinnati. "On Friday, we said 'hell no' to their actions. Lincoln Heights is just a microcosm of the Black experience in America," Collins said to the crowd before leading them in a chant saying, "We're enough." Cook said Friday's demonstration disappointed, hurt and angered him, and Sunday's march wasn't in the same spirit – it was for justice and peace. Beyond healing, residents are looking for answers. They want to know if the demonstrators were given a permit. They also want to know why they weren't cited for riding in the back of a U-Haul, which is illegal in Ohio. Evendale Police Chief Tim Holloway said the decisions his officers made that day were all made in the interest of public safety. He plans to address more questions about the police response in the coming days. On Monday, Lincoln Heights is holding a town hall at 3 p.m. at the municipal building so that residents can voice their concerns and continue the conversation. Above all, many residents at the march still were in shock at what had happened Friday. "I've never seen anything like this," Patricia Baker said. "I've lived here all my life." This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Lincoln Heights residents seek answers after white supremacist demonstration
