Vice President JD Vance issued a strong and unequivocal statement on Monday in response to a violent street attack that occurred in downtown Cincinnati over the weekend. The incident, captured on video and widely circulated across social media platforms, has drawn national outrage and prompted urgent responses from both state and federal officials.
Speaking from northeast Ohio during an event promoting President Donald Trump’s new tax and budget package—informally dubbed the “one big, beautiful bill”—Vance was asked to weigh in on the altercation, which reportedly involved a group of individuals attacking three people on the street in the early hours of Saturday morning.
“There was a group of people who attacked a couple folks on the street in Cincinnati. Senator Bernie Moreno and others have spoken out about it and criticized what happened,” a reporter asked during the press conference.
Vance responded firmly, making it clear that the actions captured in the video were unacceptable and must have consequences.
“What I saw—and I haven’t seen the full context—but what I saw was a mob of lawless thugs beating up on innocent people, and it’s disgusting,” Vance said. “I hope every single one of those individuals who engaged in violence is prosecuted to the full extent of the law. And they will be—so long as law enforcement in the state of Ohio takes their job seriously.”
He continued by referencing a specific moment in the viral video that particularly disturbed him.
“One part that I saw that was really gruesome involved a grown man sucker-punching a middle-aged woman,” he said. “Where I come from, when you have a grown man who sucker punches a woman like that, that person ought to go to jail for a very long time.”
As he emphasized the importance of swift justice, Vance also called out local law enforcement and political leaders to act decisively to address the violence. “If the cops in Cincinnati and the broader law enforcement community do not step in with firm and immediate consequences, we will continue to see this kind of lawlessness spread,” he said. “We’ve had far too much violence on the streets of America’s great cities.”
Vance further expressed concern that citizens now feel unsafe simply going out for a meal in cities like Akron, Canton, and Columbus. “How many of you have wanted to go out for dinner downtown and decided against it because you’re afraid of something like this happening?” he asked the crowd. “We have got to make American cities safe again for families and children.”
Midway through his remarks, Vance cited a particularly disturbing section of video footage that had been circulated online and through local media outlets. The footage—linked and included below—shows a chaotic and brutal attack on a man who is seen being stomped while on the ground, as well as a woman being punched unconscious as she tried to intervene. Blood can be seen streaming from her face as bystanders scream.
📹 Watch the video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7utPcayRu8
Local law enforcement confirmed that five people have already been charged in connection with the violent brawl, with more arrests expected in the coming days. Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge referred to the incident as a “fight” but noted the severity of the injuries and emphasized the ongoing investigation.
“We have five individuals charged and anticipate more,” Theetge said during a press conference. She did not disclose the names or the specific charges at the time but noted that detectives are pursuing leads aggressively.
Ken Kober, President of the Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police, also commented on the case, stating that the victims had suffered “pretty serious injuries” and would “be recovering from this for a while.”
Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy added that he had spoken directly with one of the victims—a single mother named Holly who, he said, had not received any support or contact from local or state officials apart from one police detective. “It’s unconscionable that there were no police present in that area of Cincinnati on a Friday night,” Ramaswamy stated. “There wasn’t even an ambulance on scene to get her to the hospital.”
The incident has reignited conversations around public safety, police presence, and the perception that cities across the United States are becoming less safe due to insufficient consequences for violent crime. Vance ended his remarks with a powerful statement that echoed the frustration of many watching from across the country:
“If you want to destroy street violence, there’s one way to do it,” Vance said. “You take the thugs who engage in it, and you throw their a**es in prison.”
As the investigation unfolds, the Cincinnati community and the country at large will be watching closely to see how justice is served—and whether officials follow through on the promises made in the wake of this disturbing attack.
