WASHINGTON—The FBI is investigating the Saturday night beating of a man and woman in Cincinnati, The Daily Wire has learned.
The FBI launched an investigation into the matter at Attorney General Pam Bondi’s direction, a Justice Department official shared with The Daily Wire on Monday evening. The official also said the bureau is already conducting interviews with suspects.
The news comes after Vice President JD Vance and other members of President Donald Trump’s administration condemned the incident, which took place Saturday night at the Cincinnati Music Festival.
Footage showed a violent mob throwing a man to the ground and kicking and punching him, then punching a woman in the face and apparently knocking her unconscious. The video quickly went viral online, and the city’s police chief vowed to identify and find the culprits responsible for the “cruel and absolutely unacceptable” behavior.
“What I saw, and I haven’t seen the full context, but what I saw a mob of lawless thugs beating up on an innocent person and it’s disgusting,” Vance said of the incident. “And I hope every single one of those people who engaged in violence is prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
“And they will be,” he added. “They will be so long as law enforcement in the state of Ohio take their jobs seriously.”
Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police President Ken Kober also condemned the violence, including the people who watched the mob beat the two individuals without attempting to help.
“The violence this video shows downtown is disgusting,” Kober told the local news outlet WLWT. “What’s equally disgusting is those who chose to watch and record instead of calling 911, attempting to defuse the situation or render aid.”
“I have full faith in the Central Business Section Investigators — they will make arrests in the near future,” he added. “It will then be the responsibility of the court system to hold these violent thugs accountable.”