A Vicious Brawl in Cincinnati Ended in Multiple Arrests, Injuries, and Lots of Questions

On July 26, 2025, a wild brawl broke out in Cincinnati, Ohio, during the early hours of the morning. What followed, according to police later on and the viral videos that were posted about the fight that reportedly included roughly 100 people, were multiple arrests and at least two people severely beaten. But what happened to start the Cincinnati brawl?

According to Fox 19 in Cincinnati, three confirmed people were initially arrested with charges related to the fight that started outside of a restaurant and continued into the street. They were identified as Montianez Merriweather, Dekyra Vernon, and Jermaine Matthews. At the time of their arrests, they faced felony charges of aggravated rioting and assault. While there was first only the viral videos of the fight to go on, authorities now have a little more clarity on what happened and why the fight broke out.

According to Cincinnati police Detective Barney Blank, per The Cincinnati Enquirer, the fight broke out when Merriweather and Matthews approached a man and struck him. Then, they allegedly chased him down, and the fight continued. Merriweather also reportedly targeted another man in the chaos. From there, things got hectic, and other fights broke out.

Those fights included, according to Blank, Vernon punching a woman who was allegedly trying to protect another victim who was on the ground. Although no fatalities were reported after the brawl in Cincinnati, two individuals who were hurt in the fight were hospitalized afterward, per USA Today.

Jonathan Cunningham, a Cincinnati police spokesperson, told the outlet, "Two victims did go to the hospital the following day with at that time non-life-threatening injuries, treated and released."

Although Fox 19 initially reported that three people were arrested, USA Today reported that there were five arrests. According to WLWT 5 in Cincinnati, two other people were charged with offenses related to the brawl, but their names have not been released.

After the fight, videos began emerging on social media, depicting different stages of the chaos. In one video shared on X (formerly Twitter), multiple people in the crowd are being stomped on by aggressors. A comment under the post alleged that one of the victims slapped someone first, which ignited part of the fight. However, that has not been confirmed.

Two people reported serious injuries related to the fight in Cincinnati. A woman by the name of Holly, who is another alleged victim of the brawl, shared photos that she allowed Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno to share on Instagram to bring awareness to what happened. In the photos, Holly's face is badly bruised from an alleged beating during the brawl.

"This is Holly," Moreno wrote under the photos in his post. "She wanted to have a nice evening out with friends. Instead, she got this. Holly gave me permission to release the photos so that others will never suffer what she did. We need and deserve change."