A councilwoman in Cincinnati, Victoria Parks, is doubling down on her statement that victims of a brawl last weekend “begged” for a “beat down.”

Ms. Parks came under fire earlier this week after she addressed the street fight — which occurred last weekend and has sparked outrage due to an alleged racial component — in which a group of mostly Black attackers punched and kicked a white man and woman. 

Speaking to the Cincinnati Inquirer, Ms. Parks said, “In this country, we have freedom of speech, however, you may not run into a crowded theater and scream fire.”

“He was in a crowded theater, and he screamed fire,” the councilwoman said metaphorically. “There are unintended consequences, but that’s what happened.”

Ms. Parks did not tell the Enquirer why she believes she knows what was said, or what happened, before the brawl broke out, but, despite saying the victims “begged” for the brawl, she said, “I’m just going to let people draw their own conclusion. That’s my statement.”

Ms. Parks received criticism this week after she posted on Facebook, “They begged for that beat down!”

“I am grateful for the whole story,” she wrote. 

The councilwoman was harshly criticized on social media for her comments. Her comment led to calls for her resignation. A Democratic councilwoman, Meeka Owens, criticized Ms. Park, saying in a statement, “Making comments that inflame a violent incident is never acceptable.”

“The Councilmember is entitled to her opinion; however, it is not beneficial to the city nor the region when she advocates for violence as a means of retribution,” Ms. Owens said. 

The fight, which occurred at about 3 a.m. on July 26, was recorded by multiple bystanders — though the videos do not capture what started the altercation. A police detective, Barney Blank, told reporters that two men, Montianez Merriweather and Jermaine Matthews, seemed to coordinate the attack.

The two are facing felonious assault and aggravated riot charges. 

Mr. Blank said Merriweather was seen whispering something to Matthews before they struck the male victim in the face. As the victim tried to flee, he was kicked and punched.

Merriweather was indicted on July 10 on charges of allegedly stealing a firearm. He has a prior felony conviction from 2009 for aggravated robbery, which took place when he was 17. Matthews has prior felony convictions for drug offenses. 

An attorney for Merriweather and Matthews says they were not the aggressors and that Matthews was trying to break up the fight. 

Police are also investigating whether the male victim slapped Matthews first. 

Police have also charged a woman, Dekyra Vernon, with felonious assault and aggravated riot for allegedly causing “serious physical harm” to a female by allegedly striking her in the face. 

A cousin of Merriweather, Desiray Merriweather, questioned whether the incident would have received so much attention if the victims were Black.

“What if it was an African American who was the one who got knocked out? Would we be down here today? Would we be going through this stuff? I don’t feel like we would,” she told reporters. 

The FBI has launched an investigation into the brawl. A total of five individuals have been charged as of Friday morning.

The police chief, Teresa Theetge, has also faced criticism and calls for her resignation after she said that videos on social media were distorting the “content of what actually happened.” She did not clarify what she felt had been distorted by social media.