Almost two weeks after a mob attack took place in Cincinnati, garnering national attention, one of the victims, Holly, spoke at a press conference held by Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio. The Wednesday event focused on moving forward.
Moreno called the media out for their coverage of the violent incident. “Let’s be honest, because a lot of times you guys are qualifying this as a brawl,” the senator said, as quoted by Fox News. “This was the attempted murder of an innocent woman. And that person had a rap sheet a mile long. Nobody who has that rap sheet should be walking the streets of any Ohio city free.”
Coverage from WLWT as well as other local outlets, including WXIX Cincinnati and national ones like NewsNation, indeed described the situation as a “brawl.”
Holly also expressed dismay her alleged attacker was on the streets.
“The man who attacked me, and might have permanently damaged me forever, should have never been on the streets, ever,” she said. “The fact that he had just gotten out of jail previously for something he should have been in there for years.”
The suspect, Patrick Rosemond, was arrested in Fulton County, Georgia. He is one of six suspects who have been arrested. Fox News had further details:
Rosemond, 38, was taken into custody Monday afternoon by the FBI and Atlanta Metropolitan Major Offender’s Task Force in Fulton County, Georgia. He is charged with two counts of felonious assault and aggravated riot, according to the Cincinnati Police Department.
He is also charged with one count of fugitive from justice for a fingerprintable charge, according to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office. Rosemond is currently being held in Fulton County Jail while awaiting extradition to Ohio.
The resident of Cincinnati does not have any registered addresses in Georgia, according to records obtained by Fox News Digital.
Moreno has not shied away from criticizing the local response to the incident, especially that of Democrat Mayor Aftab Pureval. The Daily Signal has reached out to the mayor’s office for comment.
The senator’s current pinned post on X is about the conversation he had with the mayor on Wednesday. Pureval tagged Moreno and referred to their discussion as “productive.”
Moreno previously threatened to call for a review of federal funding for Cincinnati.
As WLWT reported, Moreno will meet with local leaders on Aug.19 to make sure they’re making “forward progress.”
The attack exposed issues beyond criminal behavior.
“The thing I think really upsets me is desensitization of humans where there’s a brutal attack in front of you and they think, ‘Oh let me get my phone and record it,’” Holly said. “I truly hope in the future there’s some sort of bill so someone can be prosecuted or at least fined if they don’t call 911 first to save someone’s life.”
Moreno similarly called out the bystanders. “We’re not people that watch a woman get beaten to the inch of her life and our first instinct is to get out and videotape something so that you can be cool on Instagram,” he said. “That’s not who we are.”
There was one 911 call that came in minutes after the attack.
As Fox News previewed, Moreno is also looking to see Holly’s Act introduced, for minimum sentencing and minimum bail requirements. “We’re going to end the revolving door of injustice,” Moreno said on Wednesday. “Our judges can no longer hide behind their cloak, and they have to be held accountable for not upholding law and order,” he added.
Earlier this week in Cincinnati, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who is running for Ohio governor, held a town hall where concerns with judges and the need for “transparency” about sentencing came up.
Meanwhile, violence and crime in Cincinnati continue. Earlier this week a woman described as an “innocent bystander” was shot and killed in Over-the-Rine after a suspect fired 15 to 20 rounds. The victim was identified by Cincinnati police as 34-year-old Chrishonda Wynn.
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