The Ohio Supreme Court said the city of Cincinnati won't be penalized for a short delay in turning over records related to the downtown brawl that went viral or for failing to explain the reason for the delay.
Typically, when a government agency denies a public records request, it must cite the section of the law that allows the records to be held back.
In this case, Eugene Utz got the records 11 days after he made his request. The city of Cincinnati delayed release while awaiting a ruling from the Hamilton County Municipal Court on whether it could restrict access to records about the arrest of Alexander Tchervinski.
Court: No money for citizen who sued
Utz got the requested records but asked the Ohio Supreme Court to fine the city for failing to adequately explain its initial denial.
Utz filed a similar complaint against Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Pavan Parikh, which is currently awaiting a decision from the Supreme Court.
The court said that Utz had received the records so his request to the court was moot. And the court said Utz is not entitled to money from the city for its failure to explain the brief delay.
What happened after the Cincinnati brawl?
A year after the July 2025 brawl, eight people were charged with 51 separate crimes;five of the defendants have pleaded guilty to reduced charges. Most of the defendants were charged with felonies of aggravated rioting and felonious assault.
Videos of the fight went viral, and it was just a few months before Cincinnati's mayoral election. Incumbent Aftab Pureval, a Democrat, was being challenged by Cory Bowman, a Republican and JD Vance's stepbrother. Elon Musk and Donald Trump Jr. both commented on the brawl on social media.
Many Black leaders in the city called out the arrest of seven Black people when videos showed that White people were also involved.
Tchervinski was listed as both a victim and perpetrator in the fight. Eventually, a misdemeanor charge against him was dropped after witnesses for the prosecution failed to show up for court.
Cincinnati Enquirer reporter Cameron Knight contributed to this report.
State government reporter Laura Bischoff can be reached at lbischoff@usatodayco.com and @lbischoff on X.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati brawl leads to public records fight at Ohio Supreme Court
