Hate has no place in Lincoln Heights….
Officers of the Evendale police and Hamilton County Sheriff’s Departments were seen shielding the threatening group from a mob of Black residents who were outspokenly dismayed by their presence between the Village of Evendale and Lincoln Heights, historically predominantly Black neighborhoods. Ohio police lieutenant Michael Steers said the reason no arrests were made was due to lack of any violated laws. Steers was one of several officers who held members of the neighborhood back while the racist mob escaped in a Uhaul truck.
Ohio police did not arrest neo-Nazis because “no laws were broken,” said a police lieutenant at a town hall yesterday. On Friday, police shielded the racist group waving Nazi flags in the US so they could escape from furious community members. pic.twitter.com/IGqSXoZzDB— red. (@redstreamnet) February 12, 2025
In a statement, Evendale police said officers were led to protect the First Amendment rights of demonstrators. Regardless of the demonstration being held without a permit, it was still legal. However, Lincoln Heights resident Eric Ruffin said the community was frightened and it’s the police’s job to protect and serve. “Do you want a community you don’t feel safe in?” he asked during a village meeting.
After state Rep. Cecil Thomas (D-Cincinnati) called for an investigation into the matter, County Commissioner Alicia Reece agreed, feeling that racist demonstrators have become too comfortable, leaving residents having to protect themselves. “They had to go into their own house, get their own guns, go out there, and risk their own life,” Reece said.
“And they felt the only thing that happened was a defense, in their mind, of the Nazis.”
Rev. Julian Armand Cook of Lincoln Heights Missionary Baptist Church shared similar sentiments, expressing how “shocked” and “hurt” he was by the incident, which went viral on social media. “To see it show up at the gateway to this historic community, the first, the oldest Black self-governed city north of the Mason-Dixon Line, it is very clear what message it is sending,” the pastor said.
“So it was — I was angry. I was hurt. I was shocked.”
“That’s a no-no.”
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Source: Black Enterprise
