(José Niño, Headline USA) Police are racing to identify several Black individuals caught on video brutally attacking a White man and woman on the street during the Cincinnati Music Festival.
This incident took place at the intersection of West Fourth Street and Elm Street around 3:00 AM on Sunday during the final night of the Cincinnati Music Festival weekend.
According to a report by Local 12, the attack began with a man being repeatedly hit and kicked in the head by multiple people, sending him to the ground where attackers continued stomping, kicking, and punching him while he lay defenseless.
When the man attempted to stand up, he immediately fell over in apparent disorientation as cars honked their horns for the crowd to move out of the road.
Later in the video, a woman who was checking on the fallen man was suddenly attacked from behind. Another woman grabbed her while a man in the crowd sucker-punched her in the face, causing the woman to fall to the ground with her head slamming onto the concrete. The woman appeared to lose consciousness, with blood streaming from her mouth. Bystanders eventually moved the unconscious woman out of the street.
The identities of the specific perpetrators have not been officially released by police, though authorities reportedly identified four suspects involved in this violent clash, per Fox News.
Additional footage obtained by Local 12 showed the moment before violence, depicting the man in a white shirt confronting the Black mob. Some witnesses reported to local media outlet WXIX that racial slurs were exchanged before the violence began, though it remains unclear who initiated the verbal exchange.
Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge issued a strong condemnation of the attack, stating she was in “complete disgust waking up to the viral video many of you have now seen.” Chief Theetge emphasized that “the behavior displayed is nothing short of cruel and absolutely unacceptable” and that the investigative team is “working diligently to identify every individual involved in causing harm.”
She clarified that the incident was “a sudden dispute between individuals following a verbal altercation” and was not connected to the Music Festival.
Ken Kober, president of the Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police, also condemned the violence, declaring that “the violence this video shows downtown is disgusting.” He expressed particular disgust with “those who chose to watch and record instead of calling 911, attempting to defuse the situation or render aid.”
State Representative Cecil Thomas, who represents Ohio’s 25th House District and is a former Cincinnati police officer who served 27 years on the force, released a statement expressing his disgust with the incident. Thomas said the video “turned my stomach and I was angry and totally embarrassed to see such behavior,” particularly because it occurred during “the Music Festival weekend that’s has been historically free of such horrifying violence, not to mention a Reds home game” with many visitors in the city.
On Sunday evening, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon posted on X that “our federal hate-crimes laws apply to ALL Americans” and that her division would “monitor closely how local authorities handle this attack,” adding that federal charges could follow “where race is a motivation.”
Our federal hate crimes laws apply to ALL Americans. We @CivilRights will monitor closely how local authorities handle this attack.
Nobody in our great nation should be the victim of such a crime, and where race is a motivation, federal law may apply. https://t.co/QeADELQMsZ
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) July 27, 2025
On Monday, Vice President J.D. Vance, speaking to reporters in Canton, Ohio, denounced the “mob” violence and said those responsible should be “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law” and that authorities should “throw their a***s in prison.”
As of Monday afternoon, the White House press office and President Trump himself have not issued separate statements, and no federal charges have yet been announced.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
