What we know about arrests, victims in Cincinnati fight that drew national attention

Three people have been arrested after videos of a fight in downtown Cincinnati on July 26 have gone viral in recent days, becoming part of a broader national argument about politics, crime and race.

Multiple videos of the 3 a.m. fight Downtown circulated on social media over the weekend, showing a fight breaking out in a crowd. People threw punches, kicked and jeered as a man on the ground tried to fend off the blows and a woman tumbled to the concrete, bloody and disoriented.

Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge said only one person in the crowd of '100 or so' called 911.

The videos have stirred up concerns about safety in the city's urban core, which police have made an effort to address since early this summer.

Montianez Merriweather, 34, stands in front of Municipal Court Judge Michael Peck during his arraignment on felonious assault and aggravated riot charges stemming from the early morning downtown brawl July 26, 2025. His bond was set at $500,000, July 30, 2025. At right is his public defender, Dan Might.

At a community meeting on the night of July 29, the chief, who has lashed out at bystanders of the fight, bars for overserving and the media, criticized the city's portrayal on national news and how the fight has been used as political ammo.

Here's what we know about the arrests and the fight:

Who has been arrested in connection with the Cincinnati brawl?

Montianez Merriweather, 34; Dekyra Vernon, 24; and Jermaine Matthews, 39, face charges including felonious assault and aggravated riot.

Merriweather was out on bond when police said he was involved in the early morning brawl on July 26 in downtown Cincinnati. He received a $500,000 bond during a July 30 arraignment in Hamilton County Municipal Court. Matthews was given a $100,000 bond, although a judge is expected to set an additional bond on July 31.

Dekyra Vernon, 24, stands in front of Municipal Court Judge Michael Peck during her arraignment on felonious assault and aggravated riot charges stemming from the early morning downtown brawl on July 26, 2025. Her bond was set at $200,000, July 30, 2025.

Vernon's bond was set at $200,000.

Police say they have identified two other suspects as well, but they have not been reported to be in custody as of Wednesday afternoon.

What happened in the Cincinnati brawl?

Some of the videos posted on social media showed that the fight began as two men circled each other and a crowd gathered. A few people step between them, in an apparent attempt to calm them down. One man appears to slap the other.

At that point, more people join in, attacking the man who delivered the slap and kicking and punching him after he falls to the ground.

Later on in the videos, a man is also seen punching a woman in the face, causing her to fall to the ground, where she remained motionless, possibly unconscious, until a person helped pick her back up.

Cincinnati police Detective Barney Blank said video of the incident shows Merriweather walking up to Matthews, whispering something to him and approaching one of the victims from behind before striking him in the face.

Merriweather and Matthews then chased the victim, who was trying to retreat, to the ground before punching and kicking him, Blank said. The detective added that Merriweather went after another man.

"We believe that he coordinated this with Mr. Matthews," Blank said.

Blank added that Matthews was seen on video knocking the victim to the ground and kicking him several times in the face and chest, before going after another victim.

Blank said that Vernon was a bystander watching the brawl when she approached and punched a Russian woman trying to protect someone on the ground.

The detective said Vernon was not involved in any of the arguments that preceded the fight. "She just interjected herself into a brawl on the street," Blank said.

A video of a fight in downtown Cincinnati, posted on July 26, circulated social media.

Who are the victims?

Jonathan Cunningham, a spokesperson for the Cincinnati police, told USA Today on Tuesday, July 29, in an email that "two victims did go to the hospital the following day with at that time non-life-threatening injuries, treated and released."

He added that he does not know what the status is of their follow-up care.

The Russian woman who Vernon is accused of punching has since returned to her home country.

Have Downtown residents expressed safety concerns?

Cincinnati's Downtown restaurateurs, including the CEO of Jeff Ruby Culinary Entertainment, have called for a "real plan" to address the recent public safety concerns.

Community members gather for a meeting on public safety, July 29, 2025, at the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Main Branch Public Library.

"I will not tolerate lawlessness on the streets of Cincinnati," Theetge said during the July 29 meeting at the Cincinnati Public Library. "I owe it to you as people who live and work here to get the lawlessness under control."

One resident questioned the department's response to the fight during the early hours of Saturday morning, asking Theetge how many 911 calls for noise complaints or other disorder police received prior to the fight breaking out. A woman chimed in that there was at least one, indicating she had called that night.

"Downtown was hopping. It was loud. It was crowded. It was noisy," Theetge said, admitting she did not have the exact number of calls for noise complaints or disorder that night. The chief said there was only one other medical run for the fire department that evening she knew of.

Is there an uptick in crime in Cincinnati?

The latest crime data provided by the city shows shootings are down when compared with data from this time last year, but property crimes, particularly in Over-the-Rhine and Downtown, are up:

• In Downtown and Over-the-Rhine, there have been nearly double the number of burglaries, breaking-and-entering incidents and thefts from cars so far this year.
• Citywide, there have been 34 reported homicides, compared to 30 at this time last year. More than a third of those killings have happened in the past month.
• In Over-the-Rhine, there have been five homicides this year, three of which have been in the past month.
• Reported shootings remain down across the city. Cincinnati police report 110 people have been shot so far this year, compared with 142 at this point in 2024.

How have Cincinnati, national figures reacted to the fight?

Local officials and national figures have weighed in on the fight, which has gone viral online:

• Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval said he is "confident that arrests are forthcoming" and that he is "outraged by the vicious fight that occurred Downtown."
• Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine spoke to WLW radio show host Bill Cunningham on July 30 and said that he spoke with Mayor Aftab Pureval about having the Ohio State Highway Patrol help local police address crime. DeWine said Pureval accepted the governor's offer to help.
• Vice President JD Vance said a large fight in Cincinnati that went viral on social media is proof of "way too much lawlessness" in American cities.
• Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, retweeted a post on X from Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno and said, "Our federal hate crimes laws apply to ALL Americans." Dhillon said that the division will monitor how local authorities handle this incident.
• Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich said in a statement to The Enquirer that she will prosecute the attackers "to the fullest extent of the law."
• Elon Musk retweeted a video of the fight and said, "That guy almost killed this woman. Aggravated assault." He later called for Chief Theetge's resignation over not answering questions during a news conference.
• Cincinnati mayoral candidate Cory Bowman, the half-brother of U.S. Vice President JD Vance, called for "the immediate resignation or removal of City Manager Sheryl Long."

The Enquirer will update this developing news report.