August 1, 2025
Not only is Parks catching heat from social media critics, but other political dignitaries are calling for her to resign.
Cincinnati City Councilwoman Victoria Parks is catching flack for a Facebook post where she celebrated the viral July 26 brawl. “They begged for that beat down!,” she said, according to WCPO 9.
Parks commented on a post discussing the brawl that resulted in three arrests and several being sent to the hospital with injuries. It also led to numerous conversations about race relations in America and safety concerns in the Ohio city.
After celebrating the results of the fight, Parks said she was “grateful for the whole story.”
Not only is the councilwoman catching heat from social media critics but other political dignitaries are calling for her to resign, including fellow council member Meeka Owens.
“Making comments that inflame a violent incident is never acceptable,” Owens said in a statement. “I would never expect an elected leader, a colleague of mine, to make such damning, irresponsible statements. I don’t know if I can have an authentic conversation about safety and about how we move things forward in the city, with a colleague who is actually condoning violence.”
The 67-year-old’s comments also caught the attention of failed presidential candidate and former DOGE co-director Vivek Ramaswamy, who is now running for governor of the state.
“This isn’t actually about race. This is about people in their country and in their city just feeling safe when they go out to have a good time in the city,” the Cincinnati native said during an interview on NewsNation’s CUOMO.
However, he believes Parks’ comments held “a racial undertone.”
“I just reject the idea of taking a situation like this and using it to achieve some sort of cultural end,” he said. “But I do think it’s a real issue that we can’t sweep under the rug, either.”
Videos on social media show a white man started the fight by slapping a Black man, identified as Montianez Merriweather, in the face. Things escalated when another assailant retaliated by punching the man. Shortly after, another Black man, who was some feet away, jumped in..
It didn’t take long for the white man to be beaten down in the middle of the street.
While Ohio Congressman Phil Plummer took to X to demand for Parks to step down over her “disgusting” remarks, the seasoned legislator, who has served since 2021 announced that she won’t be seeking re-election in the January 2026 primaries.
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