A Republican senator from Ohio wants reforms enacted in his state to ensure that the kind of violence that broke out in Cincinnati last month and left a woman badly injured does not happen again.
After meeting with Cincinnati officials Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Moreno said he is urging state legislators to pass what he calls “Holly’s Act,” named after the woman severely injured in the July 26 incident, in which a mob of mostly black individuals turned on a white man and woman, according to Cleveland.com.
“This was attempted murder of an innocent woman, and that person had a rap sheet a mile long,” Moreno said. “Nobody who has that rap sheet should we walking on the streets of any Ohio city.”
According to WXIX, which cited a police union Facebook post, one man charged in the attack was free on $400 bail after being indicted July 10 on four counts.
5 charged in horrifying viral Cincinnati brawl that left woman knocked out cold https://t.co/TT9b5Xm9W8 pic.twitter.com/O3B8NO2NaK
— New York Post (@nypost) July 28, 2025
Montianez Merriweather, 35, was charged with receiving stolen property, possession of a weapon under disability (the term under Ohio law for being ineligible to carry a gun because of a felony conviction or other legal restriction), improper transportation of a firearm and carrying a concealed weapon.
Moreno had harsh words for spectators who videoed the beating instead of helping and for those who say street fights are a fact of modern life.
“I think we have to draw a line in the sand and say that, no, this is not acceptable behavior,” Moreno said, Cleveland.com. “It’s all of our jobs to stand up for law and order in our community.”
Should “Holly’s Act” be made into law?
“We’re going to talk to some of our state legislators to see if we can put something in place that I call — with her permission — ‘Holly’s Act,’ which is how we raise the bar on minimum sentences, minimum bail requirements. … We’re going to end the revolving door of injustice,” Moreno said, according to Fox News.
“Our judges can no longer hide behind their cloak, and they have to be held accountable for not upholding law and order,” he said.
Moreno said the media fails to properly characterize the incident.
“Let’s be honest, because a lot of times you guys are qualifying this as a brawl,” Moreno said. “This was attempted murder of an innocent woman. And that person had a rap sheet a mile long. Nobody who has that rap sheet should be walking the streets of any Ohio city free.”
The victim, who asked that her name not be used, said changes must be made.
“I’m here to talk about the future and how we can change it; how we can prevent this from happening to anybody else,” she said. “These heinous crimes have to stop. You know, I never want this to happen to anyone else, especially a mother, a daughter, or somebody who is loved.”
“The man who attacked me, and might have permanently damaged me forever, should have never been on the streets, ever,” she said. “The fact that he had just gotten out of jail previously for something he should have been in there for years. It’s really sad to me because I can’t even fathom how many other people who have been attacked by the same type of man over and over and over in Toledo, in Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton.”
She said she still suffers from the incident, according to Cleveland.com
“My brain comes and goes a little bit,” Holly said. “I’m having a lot of trouble just walking, moving, getting out of bed. … If it wasn’t so important to be here today to … kind of be the voice for preventing this for the future, I would not have left my aunt’s basement in a dark bed with a blanket over my head. It’s been horrible.”
🎗️ This is who Cincinnati City Council member Victoria Parks says “deserved the beat down” she got. This is who Pastor Damon Lynch wants on a mug shot. This is who some said is a “Russian woman who fled back to her country.”
Please give if you can: https://t.co/KRjSZWu2Sb https://t.co/bUOnrXTo9i
— Bernie Moreno (@berniemoreno) August 5, 2025
Moreno posted an interview Holly had, throwing barbs at those who have criticized her.
“This is who Cincinnati City Council member Victoria Parks says ‘deserved the beat down’ she got. This is who Pastor Damon Lynch wants on a mug shot. This is who some said is a ‘Russian woman who fled back to her country,’” Moreno posted on X,
Councilwoman Parks wrote via social media platform Facebook in reaction to the violence, “They begged for that beat down! I am grateful for the whole story.”
“Her crime was wanting to go to downtown Cincinnati and have an evening with some friends. She tried to stop the fight, and she got brutally attacked. I actually call it attempted murder,” Moreno said in a recent appearance on Fox News.
“She’s a middle-aged woman that almost got her life beaten to death for showing up at one of our great American cities.”
The FBI has begun an investigation into the incident, as noted on Moreno’s website.
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