Five charged over attack on white couple at Cincinnati jazz festival
Violent footage showing a man and woman being beaten by a group of people in the Ohio city on Saturday went viral on social media over the weekend, prompting condemnation from figures including Vice-President JD Vance.
On Monday, police charged five suspects over the attack, but did not release their names. They said they expected to bring more charges and are in contact with the victims.
Harmeet Dhillon, a senior figure in the US justice department, suggested the attack on the white couple may have been motivated by race, and that suspects could also be charged with federal hate crimes.
Video shared on social media shows the fight apparently break out after a white man reaches out to slap a black man dressed in a red T-shirt while the pair argue surrounded by a group.
Several people are then seen kicking, punching and throwing themselves at the man while he attempts to protect himself.
He falls to the floor and multiple people stamp on the man's head. He is later helped to his feet by bystanders in the crowd.
Another clip, apparently later in the altercation, shows a woman being punched in the face by a man and collapsing on the street.
Teresa Theetge, the Cincinnati police chief, said five people were charged on Monday at the mass brawl of '100 or so' people in the city's downtown around 3am on Saturday.
'Anyone who put their hands on another individual during this incident in an attempt to cause harm will face consequences... that's unacceptable,' she said. 'I don't care which side of the incident or the fight they were on.'
The investigation remains open and police anticipate that more suspects will be charged, she added.
'Our federal hate crimes laws apply to ALL Americans,' Ms Dhillon, the US assistant attorney general for civil rights, said on Sunday.
'Nobody in our great nation should be the victim of such a crime, and where race is a motivation, federal law may apply.'
Both victims appear to be white, according to footage of the attack. One witness told local media the incident had been sparked off by 'racial comments', but this has not been confirmed.
Mr Vance, a former Ohio senator, accused authorities in 'big cities' of allowing 'lawless thugs... to run wild' in a visit to the state on Monday.
'We have got to make great American cities safe again for families and children,' he said. 'Where I come from at least, when you have a grown man who sucker punches a middle-aged woman, that person ought to go to jail for a very long time.'
Corey Bowman, a Republican candidate for Cincinnati mayor and Mr Vance's half-brother, said police were being hamstrung because soft-on-crime city prosecutors released criminals onto the streets.
'Many of these officers don't even book people because they know they're just going to be back on the street next week... They have a heart for the city, but they're being hindered by the policies that are in place,' he told Fox News.
The Cincinnati mayor's office has been approached for comment.
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