A viral video filmed Friday evening shows a violent brawl in Cincinnati, Ohio where a man and a woman were attacked by a street mob.
The altercation took place during the annual Cincinnati Music Festival.
The video shows a man being punched and thrown on the ground by two individuals. Then, a mob surrounds the man and begins stomping on him and kicking him.
When the man eventually gets up and walks away, a woman appears to shield him from further harm. Then, a man clocks the woman in the head. She falls to the ground instantly, appearing to be unconscious.
Viewer discretion advised.
This is absolutely unacceptable! #Downtown #Cincinnati, Ohio, Friday night! #fight erupts with people being jumped and outnumbered!
— Flesh Gordon (@TheFleshGordon) July 26, 2025
A man punched a woman in the face at the end of the video, knocking her out with her slamming the back of her to the pavement! 😳 pic.twitter.com/yNjJXMQnZc
“I am in complete disgust waking up to the viral video many of you have now seen. The behavior displayed is nothing short of cruel and absolutely unacceptable. Our investigative team is working diligently to identify every individual involved in causing harm. It’s also important to clarify: this was a sudden dispute between individuals following a verbal altercation. It was not connected in any way to the Music Fest,” Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge said in a statement, to local outlet WKRC.
It didn’t stop there. As the alarming video circulated, it caught the attention of politicians and public figures.
Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno (R ) called out the city mayor for not speaking out about the “heinous attack.”
“Instead of dreaming about higher office, which will never happen, he should be ensuring his residents are safe,” Moreno added.
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.
— Bernie Moreno (@berniemoreno) July 27, 2025
Instead of dreaming about higher office, which will never happen, he should be ensuring his residents are safe. https://t.co/RahxdeHd3B
Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division within the Department of Justice, added, “Our federal hate crimes laws apply to ALL Americans…Nobody in our great nation should be the victim of such a crime, and where race is a motivation, federal law may apply.”
Our federal hate crimes laws apply to ALL Americans. We @CivilRights will monitor closely how local authorities handle this attack.
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) July 27, 2025
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
Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk shared images of the man and woman who were beat up, stating. “Why zero stories?”
Why zero stories? https://t.co/O25jkVcwpi
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 27, 2025