The woman named Holly, who was badly beaten during a street brawl in Cincinnati, Ohio, gave a live interview explaining even more about what happened that fateful night.
The woman, who the media had said was Russian, spoke to Laura Ingraham from an undisclosed location.
Holly said she hopes justice is served, but that she does not want to see this turn into a racial reckoning.
Highlights
- The woman who has gained notoriety for being beaten in a street fight in Cincinnati, Ohio, speaks out about what happened.
- Holly, who was previously identified as Russian, says she heard the man on the ground cry out for help and believed he would not have survived had she not stepped in.
- Holly says she has yet to receive an apology from any official and that her kids are traumatized from the incident.
Holly became known after the brawl in Cincinnati because of her bad injuries
Image credits: Fox News / YouTube
Image credits: TheFleshGordon / X
Speaking to Laura Ingraham, the conservative talk show host on Fox News, Holly appeared to be healing from her wounds.
At the end of July, Holly found herself in the middle of a brutal beating that took place in downtown Cincinnati, in which at least one person was repeatedly kicked and beaten while on the ground by a group of people.
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In now viral videos of the event, Holly could be seen stepping in to try and break it up, only to be punched in the face herself, sending her to the ground with blood pouring from her mouth.
Six people have been charged, five arrested, in connection with the event.
During the interview with Ingraham, Holly explained what happened in the moments before she got clocked.
Holly said she heard the victim crying out for help before she stepped in to try and help
Ingraham asked Holly why she thought it was necessary, as a woman, to step into the middle of a group of men who were throwing punches at each other to break up the brawl.
Holly said she couldn’t help herself.
“Everyone was standing around recording, egging it on. Cheering for them. I was waiting for the police to arrive. Terrified,” she said in the interview.
Image credits: Fox News / YouTube
Continuing, Holly told Ingraham that when she realized that police weren’t coming: “I could hear the man crying, 'Please God save me, somebody save me, help me.’”
“I knew if he fell down another time, he would not make it out alive,” she said, which is why she stepped in.
“There are so many amazing black people out there”: Holly doesn’t want this to become a racial reckoning
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In statements and news conferences since the event, Cincinnati officials have had mixed reactions to the brawl.
A city councilwoman named Victoria Parks posted on social media that “they asked for it,” meaning that the people who were beaten deserved what happened to them. She later stood by her comments when asked to clarify.
Image credits: berniemorenoforohio / Instagram
There is a racial element to the story because the videos appear to show a group of primarily Black people beating a white man.
Audio from other videos, however, appears to show that the white male hurled racial epithets at the people who would later beat him.
But Holly maintained that she did not want what happened to turn into a racial reckoning.
Image credits: Fox News / YouTube
“This group wanted to make it into a racial hate beat down. I think there are so many amazing black people out there, that I don’t want this to become a black vs white situation,” Holly told Ingraham.
She continued: “I don’t want white people to start saying bad things about black people. I don’t want it to become any rioting issues or anything.”
Holly called what happened “unfortunate,” saying that she doesn’t want “retaliation, where there’s 'white versus black' going on out there,” she concluded.
Holly said calling what happened an “incident” is insulting
Image credits: Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office
Although Holly did dispute the words the police chief used to describe what happened.
Police Chief Teresa A. Theetge called what happened “an incident”, which became a talking point for Ingraham.
Ingraham asked Holly if she agreed with the police chief’s calling it a so-called “incident,” to which Holly replied: “I think incident is insulting, and I've yet to receive a phone call from her or the mayor apologizing for what happened, and for letting these thugs run the street instead of being in jail.”
Image credits: Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office
Holly said the person who punched her had several previous run-ins with police and that there was actually a warrant out for his arrest at the time.
“The man who punched me in the face, he just got out of jail a few months before. He had felonies. I’m not sure why he was out running the streets doing this to me and others,” Holly told Ingraham.
Holly is not Russian, but was with a group of Russian people
Image credits: berniemorenoforohio / Instagram
Before the interview began, Ingraham mentioned to viewers that Holly was at an undisclosed location, but she did not say where.
Local media had been reporting that the woman is Russian, but in the interview, Holly clarified that she was simply with a group of Russian people.
Image credits: Fox News / YouTube
We do know that Holly is a mother of three children.
When asked how her kids are dealing with the situation she said: “It’s traumatizing. My 5-year-old can’t stop crying. Every time she would look at me, she had to kiss my face saying “Mommy, I have to kiss your face because every time I look at it, it makes me sad.”
Image credits: berniemorenoforohio / Instagram
Holly said that her oldest daughter said that she needs therapy.
“Because she's not ok. She’s traumatized. She saw the video before I had the chance to warn her. My kids, they’re not ok, just like I’m not ok, mentally with this PTSD,” Holly told Ingraham.
Netizens remain split over how the brawl went down, who was to blame, and how it was handled
