COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Five people have been charged in a bloody, late-night brawl in downtown Cincinnati over the weekend that involved dozens of people and raised concerns about crime in the Ohio city.
A video of the fight early Saturday shows a crowd milling about before several people start throwing punches. One man falls to the ground and was repeatedly punched and kicked by bystanders. Another woman is punched in the face and falls to the ground, lying motionless before another woman helps her. She can be seeing bleeding from the mouth.
“I am outraged by the vicious fight that occurred downtown,” Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval said in a statement. “It is horrifying to watch, and this is unacceptable and disgusting behavior is intolerable in any part of our community.”
Three days after the brawl, the city has released little information about it other than to say it was not related to a Cincinnati Reds game, a basketball tournament or a jazz festival that attracted over 150,000 people to the city. It said five people have been charged in the brawl but only two had been arrested as of Tuesday.
Police Chief Teresa Theetge said more people would be charged, warning that anyone who “put their hands on another individual during this incident in an attempt to cause harm will face consequences." She also suggested some bar owners may be culpable for over-serving participants in the confrontation, which occurred about 3 a.m. Saturday.
Theetge appeared on the defensive during the news conference, complaining the brawl was getting all the attention and “undoing all the good stuff that happened this weekend.” She also complained that bystanders took many videos but that only one person called 911. Police responded to the scene after the fight was over, about six minutes after the call.
“For us to get one phone call about this incident is unacceptable in this city,” she said.
The video of the brawl quickly turned political. Vice President JD Vance’s half brother Cory Bowman, who is running to be Cincinnati’s mayor, flagged the fight on social media on Saturday and blamed city leadership for creating an unsafe environment.
“For many, these images sparked shock and disbelief,” he said in a statement. “For residents within our city limits, they serve as a stark reminder of the ongoing crime and lawlessness we've had to endure this summer.”
Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights at U.S. Justice Department, posted on X above an image of the video that “EVERY American is entitled to the equal protection of our laws. Federal law enforcement is on it and we will ensure that justice is done.”
The videos also became a flashpoint among conservatives online, despite a lack of available details about the incident. Political influencers pointed to it as an example of apparent Black-on-white violence and criticized media coverage of the fight.
“Why zero stories?” billionaire X owner Elon Musk wrote on his social platform on Sunday. Grok, Musk’s AI chatbot, fanned the flames, claiming in an X post the same day that the “media blackout” of the story was “telling.”
Swenson reported from New York.
FILE - Incumbent Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval participates in a candidate forum with Brian Frank hosted by the Cincinnati NAACP, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster,File)
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City Council employee was arrested in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, enraging city officials and drawing protesters Tuesday to the Manhattan detention center where he was being held.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez had long overstayed a tourist visa, had once been arrested for assault, and “had no legal right to be in the United States.”
City Council Speaker Julie Menin disputed that, telling reporters that Rubio Bohorquez, a data analyst for the city legislative body, was legally authorized to work in the U.S. until October.
Menin, a Democrat, said the council employee signed a document as part of his employment confirming that he had never been arrested and cleared the standard background check conducted for all applicants.
The New York Immigration Coalition and New York Legal Assistance Group filed a petition after Rubio Bohorquez's arrest Monday asking a court to order his release, Menin and Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., said in a statement.
ICE confirmed Rubio Bohorquez’s name. Menin and Goldman referred to him only as a council employee. She said she was doing so to protect his identity.
“We are doing everything we can to secure his immediate release,” Menin said at a Monday evening news conference. She decried the arrest as “egregious government overreach.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat, said he was “outraged” by what he called “an assault on our democracy, on our city, and our values.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, also a Democrat, said: “This is exactly what happens when immigration enforcement is weaponized.” Detaining people during routine appearances “doesn’t make us safer. It erodes trust, spreads fear, and violates basic principles of fairness,” she said.
Menin said officials were attempting to reach Rubio Bohorquez’s family and obtain contact information for his immigration lawyer.
Rubio Bohorquez, originally from Venezuela, was detained at an immigration appointment in Bethpage, on Long Island, authorities said. Menin called it a regular check-in that “quickly went awry.”
“This staffer, who chose to work for the city and contribute his expertise to the community, did everything right by appearing at a scheduled interview, and yet ICE unlawfully detained him,” Lisa Rivera, the president and CEO of New York Legal Assistance Group, said in a statement.
Rivera said the organization represents dozens of people who have been wrongfully detained by ICE and hundreds who are following immigration procedures in hopes of staying in the U.S.
According to ICE, Rubio Bohorquez entered the U.S. in 2017 on a B2 tourist visa and was required to leave the country by Oct. 22, 2017. He has been employed by the City Council for about a year, Menin said. His position pays about $129,315 per year, according to city payroll data.
“He had no work authorization,” ICE said in a statement confirming Rubio Bohorquez’s arrest. The agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security, said that under Secretary Kristi Noem “criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the United States. If you come to our country illegally and break our law, we will find you and we will arrest you.”
Several dozen people protested Tuesday outside the Greater New York Federal Building, where Rubio Bohorquez was being held. Some carried signs that said “Abolish ICE” and “No Human Is Illegal.”
Disputes over an immigrant’s work authorization have arisen before, in part because many employers rely on a robust but flawed government system called E-Verify. The tool compares information entered by an employer from an employee’s documents with records available to Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration.
Experts say the system is generally accurate in terms of matching documents, but it doesn’t automatically notify an employer if an employee’s right to work is revoked after it has already been verified.
A 2021 Inspector General review concluded that until the government addresses E-Verify’s shortcomings, “it cannot ensure the system provides accurate employment eligibility results.”
Matthew Malloy, Executive Board Member with the Association of Legislative Employees, speaks during a news conference outside Greater New York Federal Building, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Alexa Avilés, New York City Council member, speaks during a news conference outside Greater New York Federal Building, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Chi Ossé, New York City Council member, speaks during a news conference outside Greater New York Federal Building, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Carlos Calzadilla, President of Brooklyn Young Democrats, speaks during a news conference outside Greater New York Federal Building, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
People raise signs during a news conference outside Greater New York Federal Building, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
