JD Vance rages at video of woman being brutally assaulted in mass brawl in Cincinnati: 'It's disgusting'

'I hope every single one of those people who engage in violence is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,' JD Vance said at an event in Canton
PUBLISHED JUL 29, 2025
Vice President JD Vance called for the prosecution of the 'lawless thugs' involved in the Cincinnati attack while speaking at an event in Canton, Ohio, on July 28 (Getty Images)
Vice President JD Vance called for the prosecution of the 'lawless thugs' involved in the Cincinnati attack while speaking at an event in Canton, Ohio, on July 28 (Getty Images)

Warning: Graphic content, readers’ discretion advised

CINCINNATI, OHIO: Vice President JD Vance lashed out after jaw-dropping footage emerged of a woman getting brutally pummeled in downtown Cincinnati.

The Friday night, July 25, horror show saw a man and woman viciously attacked by a mob in the heart of the city.

“What I saw, and I haven't seen the full context, but what I saw is a mob of lawless thugs beating up on an innocent person. It’s disgusting, and I hope every single one of those people who engage in violence is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Vance declared during an event in Canton, Ohio, on Monday.

“I don't know the full context, but the one part that I saw that was really gruesome is that you had a grown man who sucker punched a middle-aged woman. That person ought to go to jail for a very long time — and frankly, he's lucky there weren't some better people around because they would've handled it themselves," he continued.

“We have got to make great American cities safe again for families and children, the only way to destroy that street violence is to take the thugs who engage in that violence and throw their a**es in prison," Vance added.

Video shows a woman's head being slammed against the pavement during brawl in downtown Cincinnati

The savage scene captured on camera looks like something out of a war zone.

In the footage, a man in a white T-shirt is shoved to the pavement by two aggressors before a pack of others swarms in for the beatdown. They pummel him as he lies helpless in the middle of the street, with at least one goon appearing to stomp on his head. The attack lasts nearly a minute.

The man tried to stand when the blows briefly stopped, only to immediately collapse in what looked like disorientation. Someone off-camera chimed in with a mocking, “My man’s drunk.”

A woman in a black dress rushed in to help the man, only to become the mob’s next target. She was struck twice in the face, the force knocking her out cold. Her head slammed against the pavement, and blood was seen pouring from her mouth as she lost consciousness.

Police said the entire melee started as a verbal spat between two men near the intersection of Fourth and Elm Streets. By the end of it, both the unidentified man and woman were left seriously injured. A good Samaritan whisked them away to a hospital, according to local station WKRC.

Their conditions remain unclear.

Investigators have been 'working around the clock' to identify those involved in the attack

Authorities aren’t brushing this off. Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge was quick to clarify that the beatdown had nothing to do with the jazz festival in town that weekend. “This was a sudden dispute between individuals following a verbal altercation,” she said.

Theetge announced that five people had been charged following the violent brawl. She also said that police anticipate more charges to be issued as the investigation continues. The names of those charged and the specific charges have not been publicly released as they are currently sealed, WLWT reported.



 

Police union president Ken Kober told The Cincinnati Enquirer that investigators have been "working around the clock."

“These investigators have been working around the clock to identify everybody that’s involved, to be able to locate these people, to be able to interview them, to be able to get a true picture of exactly what occurred,” he told WKRC.

Kober said they received a number of tips about who the attackers might be. “I would ask... that the public play a part in this, because stuff like this shouldn't happen in our city, but when it does, we need people to step forward, that way we can bring these people to justice,” he pleaded before the charges were issued.

In separate remarks to WLWT, Kober called the whole scene “disgusting.” But what really got under his skin were the onlookers. “What's equally disgusting is those who chose to watch and record instead of calling 911, attempting to defuse the situation, or render aid," he said.

Elon Musk blasts media silence on downtown Cincinnati attack

Even billionaire Elon Musk jumped into the fray, putting the media on blast for ignoring what he saw as a major story. “Why zero stories?” the tech mogul wrote on X (formerly Twitter), while retweeting a post from the conservative End Wokeness account.

The post took aim at mainstream news outlets like CNN, ABC, NBC, Fox News, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, accusing them of pretending the attack never happened.



 

Unfortunately, this isn’t a one-off horror story in the Queen City.

According to Cincinnati PD data released on July 21, violence in the city’s central business and riverfront districts is up 25% compared to last year. Between January 1 and July 21, cops counted 12 aggravated assaults in that part of town — albeit that's down from 16 last year during the same period.

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