Vice President JD Vance’s half-brother slammed Cincinnati city leadership after a brutal downtown mob beating went viral, claiming the attack shows how failed policies have created a “free-for-all” in the city.
Cory Bowman, who is running for mayor against incumbent Aftab Pureval in November, blamed the Saturday brawl on what he called “trickle-down incompetence” from local officials.
“We have to look at the root issue of this, and that’s mismanagement. We have this saying: ‘That’s trickle-down incompetence.’ This incompetence is coming from the top down, and we have to fix it,” Bowman said during a Monday appearance on “Elizabeth Vargas Reports.”
Five people were arrested after the attack at Fourth and Elm Street outside a downtown nightclub. Video shows a mob viciously beating a man and a woman unconscious. Critics have blamed racism for the attack.
BREAKING: Senator Bernie Moreno just revealed that the woman who was nearly KlLLED in Cincinnati during the mob attack was actually trying to break up the fight!
What makes it worse is that when the police finally showed up, NOBODY bothered to call an ambulance, and they forced… pic.twitter.com/JwomO5kdqk
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) July 31, 2025
Bowman, who lives close to where the vicious attack happened, said the attack is part of rising violent crime that city leaders refuse to acknowledge.
“I’m looking at it from somebody that lives six blocks away from the incident, and the reality of it is that for the people that live in the downtown area, these images aren’t just shocking, but they’re also a reminder of what we’ve had to go through with rising crime throughout the entire summer,” he told anchor Hena Doba.
Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge said only one person called police during the attack, despite over 100 witnesses and some filming the incident. Bowman disputed her account after speaking with a local resident.
“She sent me a screenshot of it, and it was at 3:03 a.m. The police chief said that they only received one call at 3:06 a.m., and I doubt that I’m in contact with the only person that called 911 that night,” Bowman said. “She also said that the dispatcher was also very rude and dismissive of it.”
Police Chief Theetge questioned why more people didn’t call for help.
“That is unacceptable to not call the police. Traffic was horrendous. People saw this. They were fighting in front of traffic. Why didn’t people call us?” she said during a Monday press conference.
“People don’t even see the sense in calling 911 anymore,” Bowman said, because police are “handcuffed by the current city leadership.”
“And then what happens is that these police officers don’t see a point in actually booking the criminals, because there’s actually prosecutors in the city that have a revolving door mentality that the criminals go in, and then they’re released on the streets,” Bowman said. “And so many of these officers don’t even book people because they know they’re just gonna be back on the street next week. So they sit in their cars, and they try to do the best they can. They have a heart for the city, but they’re being hindered by the policies that are in place.”
Ken Kober, a 25-year veteran of the Cincinnati Police Department, supported Bowman’s claims.
“It’s just nothing more than a savage attack on a couple of people. I mean you see somebody that’s completely defenseless, trying to cover their head in their face, and they’re just being stomped on by multiple individuals,” Kober said.
“We have a problem with judges that don’t wanna hold people accountable, and when they know that there aren’t gonna to be any consequences for their actions is when people are gonna go out and we’re gonna see incidents like what happened Saturday morning,” he added.
Bowman said city manager Sheryl Long should be removed from her post, because she’s unable to handle the job.
“There’s been a proven track record to where this administration, through the city manager’s office, has proven time and time again that they’re not ready for this task, let alone the crime,” Bowman said. “There’s been certain initiatives that they pushed that haven’t done anything to help the community.”
The 36-year-old mayoral candidate, who is the founding co-pastor of a local evangelical church and co-owns a coffee shop, came in second in the primary with 12.91% of the vote behind Mayor Pureval’s 82.53%.
Bowman was inspired to launch his mayoral bid after Vance’s inauguration in January, “an event he cheered with immense pride,” according to his campaign website.
Vice President Vance endorsed his half-brother on primary day, writing on social media: “My brother Cory Bowman is running for mayor and is on the ballot today for the primary. He’s a good guy with a heart for serving his community. Get out there and vote for him!”
The two share a father, Donald Bowman, who died in 2023, but didn’t grow up together. They met as teenagers and bonded over basketball.
Bowman told Fox News the Cincinnati attack represents a national problem in Democrat-run cities.
“Now, I think this is important for the nation to see it, because the nation is seeing that multiple downtown areas in America are seeing failed policies ruin their cities,” he said. “And you’re seeing riots, you’re seen fights, you’re seeing crime rise, you’re seeing laws that aren’t enforced.”