Residents of a majority-Black town in Ohio have reportedly launched an armed patrol for their protection after criticizing the police response to a neo-Nazi demonstration in February.
Why It Matters
The Cincinnati suburb of Lincoln Heights garnered national attention after a neo-Nazi group, waving swastika flags and hurling racial slurs, demonstrated on a highway overpass on the edge on the community on February 7.
The incident sparked outrage, with residents at a town hall questioning why officers from the neighboring village of Evendale and deputies from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office who responded to the incident made no citations or arrests. They expressed concerns that they would not be safe if another similar incident occurred.
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What To Know
Residents then started the Lincoln Heights Safety and Watch Program. Daronce Daniels, the watch group’s spokesperson, told The Washington Post in February that residents took up arms shortly after the neo-Nazis left and community leaders formed the program in order to organize them.
The program coordinates about 70 guards who watch the roads leading into the town and go on armed patrols, the Post reported. Ohio law allows anyone legally permitted to own a gun to open carry without a permit.
The group also patrols near bus stops to make sure students go to school safely, according to an NBC News report.
Newsweek has contacted Daniels for further comment via social media.
Videos captured by news stations show the volunteer guards wearing tactical gear and face coverings as they patrol the streets.
Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey, whose deputies are assigned to patrol Lincoln Heights, said during a news conference in February that she did not support the creation of a “neighborhood militia.”
The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that some people have called 911 to complain about armed men, including three that recounted confrontations.
Daniels told the Post that the watch program was not a militia or engaging in vigilantism and that reports of those who challenged passersby were about residents not affiliated with the watch program.
Other residents have expressed support for the watch program, with Alandes Powell, a nonprofit director, telling the newspaper that the town has the right to set up a program for its protection.
Officials in February said that the neo-Nazi group did not break any laws during the February 7 incident, but the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s office is investigating.
Evendale Mayor Richard Finan said in a statement on Tuesday March 11 that officers had been “responding to a dangerous and dynamic situation.”
The emphasis on de-escalation “resulted in the incident’s resolution without injuries to any of the persons involved, passersby or law enforcement officers” and “during this evolving scene, protecting life took priority over immediate identification.”
Just a few weeks after the neo-Nazi protest, residents in Lincoln Heights found Ku Klux Klan leaflets strewn in the streets, according to WLWT 5. A man was cited for littering after being found in possession of the leaflets, the station reported.
On Friday, Finan said the Evendale Police Department and Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office are initiating internal reviews into the incident and body camera footage has been turned over the prosecutor’s office as part of their ongoing criminal investigation. He said Evendale has also initiated an independent review.
Newsweek has contacted the police department, sheriff’s office for comment via email.
What People Are Saying
Watch group spokesperson Daronce Daniels told NBC News last week: “I’ve never felt safer as a Black man in my community than I have right now. These are my friends. These are my cousins, my brothers, my sisters, my aunties.”
Lincoln Heights resident Alandes Powell told the Post: “Lincoln Heights is saying, if you’re not going to protect us, then we’re going to protect ourselves.”
Evendale Mayor Richard Finan said in a statement on Friday: “We want to better understand the feelings and concerns of our neighbors in Lincoln Heights, specifically as they relate to issues of transparency and accountability. We continue to actively seek ways to reassure, collaborate and unite our communities.”
What’s Next
Finan said the results of the reviews and investigations will be released “in their entirety when completed.”
