When neo-Nazis planted their swastika flags on the I-75 overpass facing Lincoln Heights on February 7, Cincinnati police officers stood between them and outraged residents of the historically Black community.
Three days later, more than 150 people packed the village’s council chambers, demanding why officers didn’t arrest or cite anyone from the neo-Nazi rally. Residents also reported continued sightings and incidents, including cars driving through with swastika flags and several car windows being smashed in a parking lot. While condemning the demonstration, police claimed the Neo-Nazi rally was legal because it occurred on a sidewalk.
Since then, community members have taken matters into their own hands. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, masked men with guns have been stopping cars, questioning drivers, and turning away people they deemed suspicious. One man allegedly called 911 after a group of armed men refused to let him pass. In another 911 call, a mother dropping off her children at school saw armed men stopping people going through a Wendy’s drive-thru.
Meanwhile, Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey claims she had “no idea” armed men were stopping cars.
“Nobody has addressed that with the sheriff’s office. If they do, we will certainly articulate what can and can’t be done in that area. We do not want to create neighborhood militias,” McGuffey tells the Enquirer. “We don’t want… that because we understand that it leads back to the tactics of these Neo-Nazis. They want people to do that.”
Her office has promised increased patrols and a new task force, but for many in Lincoln Heights, the damage is done. Caught between white supremacists on one side and what they see as indifferent law enforcement on the other, they’ve made their choice.
The question now is what happens next.
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