Demonstrators carrying swastika-emblazoned flags were sighted on a bridge between Lincoln Heights and Evendale, Ohio, on Feb. 7. The group was clad in all black and some carried guns. Police arrived at the site shortly after the group amassed. Nearby residents rushed to the demonstration, but police prevented any confrontation. Eventually, the demonstration was dispersed when residents broke through the police line to confront the group. The demonstrators quickly left in a U-Haul truck after being escorted their by police. 

No group has claimed responsibility for the event. Afterwards, the police released a statement calling the demonstration “very offensive, [but] not unlawful.” Aftab Pureval, the mayor of Cincinnati, called the demonstration “shocking and disgusting” in a statement on X. “This is not what we stand for, and it will never be what we stand for,” he said. “Messages of hate like this have no place in our region.” 

However, some residents of Lincoln Heights, a historically Black community that has endured a long history of racism, criticized the official response for tolerating hate speech. They said authorities could have made an effort to shut down the event or identify protesters, noting that the bridge was state property. White supremacist ideology historically correlates with terrorism and other acts of violence, like school shootings. Additionally, residents have been critical of a sighting of the Neo-Nazi U-haul truck accompanied by Evendale police on Lockland School grounds, in Lincoln Heights, after the event.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, white supremacist activity hit a new high in 2023. Part of this larger trend, a similar event occurred in Columbus in November, where demonstrators clad in all black carried similar neo-Nazi imagery and pepper sprayed bystanders. A day after the event, people from around Cincinnati united to promote a message of peace and unity.