On February 7th, a U haul van full of neo-Nazis gathered in the predominantly Black Cincinnati suburb of Lincoln Heights, which boasts a modest population of 3,144 people. They wore masks and carried guns as they called residents racist slurs. The group of white supremacists also waved flags with red swastikas on a highway overpass. The town originated as a self-governing Black community for laborers blocked from Cincinnati and surrounding towns because of their race, and is the oldest north of the Mason-Dixon Line, it proclaims on its website. The neo-Nazis also marched that same day in Evendale, a nearby village.
Two weeks after that disturbing incident, someone - presumably another white supremacist - spread racist pamphlets from the Ku Klux Klan all over Lincoln Heights. Disappointed by local law enforcement officials who did not spring into action to protect them, Black residents have now taken things into their own hands.
Lincoln Heights' police department was disbanded in 2014; the area is served by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office. Following the February 7th demonstration, residents - alongside Hamilton County Commissioner Alicia Reece - questioned why police made no arrests or citations after the neo-Nazis intimidated residents and threatened racist violence. Evendale police also released body-camera footage showing officers being cordial with the masked group.
As a result, the Lincoln Heights Safety and Watch Program was formed. Black men now are carrying rifles to guard the roads that lead directly into Lincoln Heights, questioning anyone trying to enter. Ohio is an open-carry state and folks are taking advantage of that, according to spokesperson Daronce Daniels, a spokesman for Program, which coordinates the guards who serves as guards for Lincoln Heights. The program directs members to report suspicious activity to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.“ An American individual protecting his homeland with a firearm - I thought that was the most American thing that we [could] do,” he said.
The Hamilton County prosecuting attorney’s office is reviewing the neo-Nazi rally to determine if it will make criminal charges but said it would take time to complete a thorough assessment given the volume of evidence.
Daniels said the Lincoln Heights guards will continue patrolling their village for the foreseeable future. They feel they are still under threat.
The Village of Lincoln Heights and members of the Lincoln Heights Missionary Baptist Church have initiated a public boycott of Evendale after their frustration with the Evendale Police Department (EPD) and Evendale leaders regarding the neo-Nazi demonstration that occurred February 7th. The Rev. Dr. Julian Cook, pastor of the Lincoln Heights Missionary Baptist Church, said at a February. 24 press conference at the church that no arrests or citations have been made by the EPD in connection with the incident. However, he expressed appreciation for Evendale officials’ decision to hire a third-party team to evaluate their handling of the demonstration.
Read the February 27, 2025 Washington Post article.
