The U.S. Department of Justice has confirmed it will monitor the local investigation into a violent attack on a white man and woman by a group of Black individuals in downtown Cincinnati on Friday night, as reported [1] by The Gateway Pundit.
The incident [2], which was caught on video and widely shared on social media, has prompted national attention and criticism of local leadership.
A white couple was brutaIIy beaten at a jazz festival by a black “teen mob” in Cincinnati yesterday.
0 national coverage. pic.twitter.com/IgPnVYwbme [3]
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) July 27, 2025 [4]
Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, posted on X Sunday, stating that the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division is closely watching how the investigation is handled.
“Our federal hate crimes laws apply to ALL Americans,” Dhillon wrote in response to a post by Senator Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio).
“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.”
Sen. Moreno had called out Cincinnati’s Democrat Mayor Aftab Pureval for remaining silent on the matter.
“The Mayor of Cincinnati, @AftabPureval, who has an opinion on lots of irrelevant topics, has not issued a statement, let alone a condemnation, of this heinous attack,” Moreno wrote.
“Instead of dreaming about higher office, which will never happen, he should be ensuring his residents are safe.”
Our federal hate crimes laws apply to ALL Americans. We @CivilRights [5] 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 [6]
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) July 27, 2025 [7]
The video of the incident was first posted by Cory Bowman, a Republican candidate for mayor of Cincinnati and half-brother of Vice President J.D. Vance.
Bowman placed second in the May primary and is set to face Pureval in November. He posted multiple clips of the assault on X and Facebook, criticizing the city’s handling of law enforcement during major events.
According to Bowman, the attack occurred near Fourth Street and Elm Street during a night packed with large events, including a Cincinnati Reds game and the Cincinnati Music Festival.
Bowman stated that no dedicated dispatcher was assigned to handle the increased volume, a claim reportedly backed by sources inside the city’s Emergency Communications Center.
Tariq Nasheed, a controversial activist, posted a video claiming the attack was initiated by the white male involved. “One of the white males decided to slap a Black man in the face. And things went downhill from there,” he claimed.
Cincinnati’s police union president, Ken Kober, told WKRC-TV that investigators have been working nonstop to identify those involved. “They’re doing everything they can,” Kober said. “There are still some people that have not been identified.”
Police are asking anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers at (513) 352-3040 or the Central Business District Investigators at (513) 352-5445. Callers may remain anonymous.
Bowman issued a lengthy statement criticizing Mayor Pureval and city leadership for what he called “trickle-down incompetence.”
He cited law enforcement staffing shortages, ineffective juvenile curfew enforcement, and a “catch-and-release” policy from county prosecutors as major factors contributing to the city’s rise in violence.
Bowman’s proposed plan includes returning ECC control to the police department, restoring law enforcement authority, cutting costly city initiatives that undermine policing, and pressing prosecutors to pursue criminal accountability.
“I, along with many other influential voices, have NO CONFIDENCE in our current leadership,” Bowman wrote. “This must be addressed sooner rather than later. Lives are at stake.”