A Cincinnati council member is in hot water in her city for her reaction to a viral downtown brawl that drew race-based rhetoric online and resulted in five arrests.
Councilwoman Victoria Parks took to Facebook to comment on a video showing the moments leading up to a full-fledged brawl in downtown Cincinnati on July 26.
Clips of the fight have been reposted and reshared numerous times across social media platforms.
Right-wing social media accounts that circulated clips of the scene to millions of people have claimed the brawl is an example of race-based violence, painting the individuals involved as a “black mob” who beat up a white man and woman. But it’s unclear whether racial motivation played a part in the confrontation.
The video Parks commented on shows two men engaged in a fistfight. After one man slaps the other, several other people swarm him and begin punching, kicking, and stomping him repeatedly. A woman who later intervened in the fight was knocked unconscious.
“They begged for that beat down!” Parks posted to Facebook on Sunday, July 27, at 4:50 a.m. “I am grateful for the whole story.”
Local news outlet WLWT contacted Parks about her remarks. She said she stands by the social media comment, which she has not deleted. Parks has served on Cincinnati’s city council since January 2022. She has previously stated that she will not be seeking re-election.
City and state officials have shared their reactions to Parks’ response, which have ranged from disappointment to calls for new leadership.
“It’s unconscionable that an elected official would be celebrating violence in the very city she was voted to serve,” Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police president Ken Kober told Fox News Digital. “This highlights the poor political environment that police officers, residents and visitors are currently enduring. Thankfully, there’s an election in November. I urge voters to vote for change!”
“The violence we have seen is unacceptable and inaction is not an option,” Councilmember Mark Jeffreys said. “While we let the investigation and law enforcement process play out, it is important that all elected officials and leaders in our community say clearly that anyone acting the way we saw in that video will not be tolerated in Cincinnati. Anything less than that from our leaders is a failure.”
A couple of days after the fight, Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge announced five people were arrested and charged. In her remarks at a press conference, she also denounced the rhetoric that emerged on social media about the brawl.
“Social media, the posts that we’ve seen, does not depict the entire incident. That is one version of what occurred,” Theetge said, adding that the commentaries that have emerged are misrepresentations of the circumstances. “What that does, that causes us some difficulty in thoroughly investigating the activity and enforcing the law. Because what happens, that social media post and your coverage of it distorts the content of what actually happened and it makes our job more difficult.”
Authorities anticipate more arrests to come.
Cincinnati police confirmed the fight was the result of a verbal altercation, but it’s unclear what the parties involved were arguing about before resorting to fisticuffs.
Although demands have surfaced for hate crime charges, no such charges have been filed. Prosecutors have accused two of the co-defendants of coordinating the fight and setting it up as “an ambush,” WLTX reported.
A defense attorney disputed the argument, stating that the man who threw the first slap that led to the brawl was allegedly seen kicking a defendant’s vehicle.
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