Lincoln Heights, Ohio – Members of the Lincoln Heights Village Council intend to pass a resolution directing the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office to review all evidence surrounding a neo-Nazi demonstration in February and press charges where appropriate.
The incident happened on February 7. On an overpass near Lincoln Heights, a historically Black neighborhood, several men in masks waving Nazi flags shouted racial slurs at passersby.
Eric Ruffin, a passerby, was captured in a now-viral video dancing to Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” while the men on the bridge hurled slurs at him.
Ruffin told FOX19 NOW that since February, he has been surprised at how little has happened in its aftermath.
“It disappears!” He said. “Nothing occurred. Nothing has been fixed. “There has been no corrective action.”
Ruffin claimed that while he was pinned down with the neo-Nazis, all nearby law enforcement did was tell him to turn down his music.
The Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office previously stated that there were “no prosecutable offenses” found in the incident’s evidence.
Meanwhile, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office stated that the investigation is ongoing.
While they released hours of body camera and dash camera footage from the incident, village council members said Monday that they have yet to receive a full investigative report.
Daronce Daniels, the council member who proposed the resolution, stated that he wants to see a full report and believes crimes were committed based on the footage he has seen.
“If we as council members cannot defend our own residents by simply asking the people that we pay to investigate and provide all the evidence necessary to our doggone prosecutor, then what’re we doing here?” He spoke after their meeting.
Daniels explained that because the neo-Nazis were in school zones, there could be evidence of intimidation, ethnic intimidation, and gun charges.
He went on to say that one of the men in the back of the U-Haul truck carrying the neo-Nazis threatened to use “bear spray” on a deputy.
Ruffin expressed concern that a lack of action will set a concerning precedent.
“Anyone that wants to can be standing on that bridge and come out into the street with a mask and a gun, and police officers will watch,” he informed us.
Ruffin stated that no investigator has spoken with him about the incident.
The resolution did not pass on Monday night, but it will be read again.
