LINCOLN HEIGHTS, OH – Residents here are taking advantage of the state’s open-carry law to begin an armed watch program in their community to feel protected in the majority-Black community, who were recent targets of racial discrimination, reported to the Washington Post.
In early February, a U-Haul van brought a group of neo-Nazi demonstrators to a highway overpass near the town’s border, where masked agitators in body armor, carrying AR-15 rifles, shouted racial slurs and waved flags with red swastikas on them, according to the Washington Post.
Two weeks later, the community was bombarded once more by an agitator who spread racist pamphlets from the Ku Klux Klan across town.
Having originated as a self-governing Black community, the people of Lincoln Heights are used to advocating for themselves—especially against underinvestment and neglect, added the Post.
However, in light of recent events, residents are worried about being surrounded by hate and are concerned about Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office police officers’ unwillingness to protect the community, wrote the Washington Post.
According to the Post, residents questioned why police officers made no citations or arrests despite allegations the neo-Nazi group had made multiple racist threats. Their outrage also rises from released body-camera footage that depicted an officer acting friendly with the agitators.
As a result, said the Washington Post, community leaders and residents organized the Lincoln Heights Safety and Watch Program, a group of about 70 local guards, who have taken up arms and patrol the streets.
The Post reports many community members believe their efficiency in organizing stems from their history of self-advocacy, and, while some residents believe taking up arms is the only way to protect each other, others are more cautious about beginning an armed watch program—a few residents have complained about being stopped and asked about their business in the town.
The Washington Post reported that, although the police department received many 911 calls about armed residents, there have not been any charges or crimes committed due to the open-carry law in Ohio, and members of the armed watch program have asked the community to report any suspicious activity to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.
