LINCOLN HEIGHTS, Ohio — A group of masked men armed with rifles, shotguns and pistols patrolled the streets and corners of Lincoln Heights Monday, including the intersection of Mangham Drive and Dorothy Court, overlooking the I-75 overpass where neo-Nazis rallied Friday.
The men didn't want to be interviewed, but indicated they were from in and around Lincoln Heights.
The patrols by locals came the same day the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office met with community members who told them they felt responsible for their own safety in the wake of the white supremacist rally.
WATCH: WCPO reporter asks lawmakers for answers
Lester Parker, a sophomore at Princeton High School, spoke at the meeting and called on everyone in the room to do more to address the hateful event and ensure it doesn't happen again.
He addressed Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey directly.
"Step up. Step up. Stop saying, 'I'm looking for answers.' Say, 'I've got answers,'" he said.
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After the meeting, Parker told WCPO he saw the neo-Nazi rally for the first time from the seat of his school bus.
"We need more leaders in my generation, and I'm willing to be that leader but I'm also asking for support from all sides like elected officials," Parker said.
Many village, county and state officials were at Wednesday's meeting including Democratic Rep. Cecil Thomas who proposed an investigation into all police actions around the event, a review of all facts, and potential new laws if there weren't enough legal ways for police to disrupt the neo-Nazi gathering before people from the area could confront them.
We asked if he thought the police could have done more with existing laws.
"I think so," Thomas said.
Thomas said speech that incites people to violence could be disrupted, but he wasn't sure what exactly could have been done.
"What we're going to do is look at all of that," he said. "If there are some tweaks that need to be made, if there's language to make sure we don't allow this situation in the whim of a blink of an eye you've got a blood bath."
Civil Rights attorney Marc Mezibov warned restrictions on any speech would need to pass a high constitutional bar to avoid breaking the First Amendment.
"Speech can be disturbing, can be challenging, can be provocative, and difficult sometimes for the listener to absorb, but that doesn't mean it isn't protected," Mezibov said.
Thomas said he would be meeting with the Ohio Public Safety Director Tuesday to begin his investigation into the rally.
