As the murder case proceeds against Rodney Hinton Jr., the Ohio father accused of murdering a recently retired sheriff’s deputy on May 2 — just one day after Hinton Jr.’s son was fatally shot by police — a disturbing undercurrent is gaining momentum.
Not unlike the support that’s poured in for teenager Karmelo Anthony — charged with murdering 17-year-old Austin Metcalf in Frisco, Texas, last month — some supporters of Hinton Jr. are calling him a “hero” and a “saint” and even “Father of The Year.”
‘He is holding his head high in the courtroom while surrounded by cops because he feels good about what he did. He defended his son in the only way he knew how.’
Authorities said Hinton Jr. was at the Cincinnati police station May 2 to view police bodycam video showing the fatal police shooting of his son, Ryan Hinton, which took place the day before. A detective testified that Hinton Jr. was emotional after viewing the video and later on May 2 drove his car into retired Hamilton County Sheriff’s Deputy Larry Henderson, who was helping direct traffic near a University of Cincinnati graduation.
Henderson died as a result of his injuries, and authorities charged Hinton Jr. with murder, contending his alleged act was in retaliation for the police-involved shooting death of his son. Hinton Jr., who remains in jail, has pleaded not guilty — and his attorney said it will be by reason of insanity. Hinton Jr.’s trial will proceed later this year or in early 2026, and the prosecution will seek the death penalty.
Yet, despite what Hinton Jr. is accused of, he has gained quite a few fans.
In an X post that’s been viewed four million times, the user wrote, “Eye for an eye” above a video showing Hinton Jr. walking out of a courtroom with his head tilted back and his chin jutting forward. “A father’s revenge. Keep ya head up!”
Another X post — which uses a similar video showing supporters of Hinton Jr. waving to him in court and the defendant reacting with a look of defiant satisfaction — declares that, “No matter what happens to Rodney Hinton Jr. he immortalized forever!!” The post has been viewed more than 350,000 times.
Other notable reactions:
“Rodney Hinton Jr. did his duty,” another X user said.”Rodney Hinton is a hero,” another X user said. “This is exactly the energy we should have for these state sanctioned killers when they come after one of our own.””All I’m saying is this. If a cop killed my son … I’m airing out the precinct,” another X user said. “Rodney Hinton Jr. is a saint and a hero.””Rodney Hinton’s actions … make complete sense as the reaction of a parent witnessing state violence dolled [sic] out by actors who will never be held responsible,” another X user said. “I’d go so far as to say he’s totally justified.”
But all of the aforementioned cheering for Hinton Jr. are relative blips on the radar compared to the opinions below supporting him. Check them out for yourself:
Longtime cultural critic and writer Touré says Hinton Jr. ‘got an eye for an eye’ — and ‘as a Black father, I respect him’
Longtime cultural critic and writer Touré penned the following on Instagram about Hinton Jr.: “So many times Black folks have lost our children to cops and imagined some way of getting back at police. I’ve envisioned cathartic violence in my mind’s eye as a response to a police killing, but I could never do it. But Hinton did. He got an eye for an eye. He is holding his head high in the courtroom while surrounded by cops because he feels good about what he did. He defended his son in the only way he knew how. I’m not saying whether he was right or wrong; I’m saying he did what millions of us have thought of doing after another police murder of a Black teenager. I could never do what he did, but as a Black father, I respect him.”
Touré also posted a separate video in which he dramatically declares that Hinton Jr. “is a lot like” Luigi Mangione:
They both committed political assassinations. They both un-alived specific people as a way of protesting a system. They both committed violent homicides yet received wild outpourings of respect. They both made powerful statements about America by protesting a system that they feel was oppressing them. They both felt destroyed and despondent after an American system betrayed them. They both lost the will to live and discover the power that you have and the things that you can do when you no longer care about your own life. They both inspire people to say, “I hear his message. I respect his feelings. I respect his pain.” These are both revenge on the system … where they have selected a specific individual to stand in for the entirety of the system. And you would expect the average person to say, “Wow! Violence is wrong!” But in both these situations people are saying, “I understand why he was violent.” Don’t hyper-focus on people who have committed violent crimes here; focus on the systems that have pushed them to feel like, “We are so oppressed by you that we need to do something violent to get your attention.”
TikTok user posts jarring short video about the killing of deputy Henderson: ‘RIP to that officer. But to everyone saying that he’s innocent? He fit the description.’
A TikTok user posted a short, stop-you-in-your-tracks video that’s garnered nearly 240,000 views in which he opines about the violent death of deputy Henderson: “And I’mma say this in the most respectful — but I’mma be honest — way that I can. RIP to that officer. But to everyone saying that he’s innocent? He fit the description.”
The TikTok user offered a written caption for his video, saying that “I mean this with all respect: rest in peace to that officer, prayers to his family, but I’m giving them every line they give us.” Presumably, the video creator means that police say the same thing about black people they arrest — that they “fit the description.”
The clip attracted more than 1,300 comments — and while some questioned the TikTok user’s take, others couldn’t have agreed more with him. “Guilty by association. That’s what they say about us,” one commenter wrote back. Another responded by saying, “I honestly think this is genius. If cops get treated how they treat people, there is gonna be a lot of change!!!”
‘Black folks are getting on alert, like, ”Hey man … I got to defend myself by all means … defend my family by all means [and] crash out for my family by all means,”‘ activist warns
Readers of Blaze News might recognize activist Tariq Nasheed, as he authored several viral X posts last month supporting murder suspect Karmelo Anthony. In one of them, Nasheed said, “If Kyle Rittenhouse was justified in using lethal self-defense… And Daniel Penny was justified in using lethal self-defense…. Then Karmelo Anthony was justified in using self-defense against alleged bullies who instigated an altercation, correct?”
More recently, Nasheed weighed in on the Hinton Jr. controversy for the 256,000 subscribers to his Tariq Radio program on YouTube. He explained during a recent episode — “Did This Father Take Justice in His Own Hands?” — what he believes is the reason behind Hinton Jr.’s alleged actions:
People are tired of racial injustice, and people are just … crashing out, like, “We’re just going to fight back,” which is inevitable. There’s only so far you can push people. There’s only so far you can just … keep creating a system of non-justice. That’s why we keep seeing these cases where black folks are fighting back — Karmelo Anthony — just so many other cases. Black folks are fighting back, and these white supremacists are getting more degenerate, just like the white woman who was … cursing out that special-needs black kid and all of these other white supremacists supporting her. So black folks are getting on alert, like, “Hey, man … I got to defend myself by all means and defend my family by all means, or I have to crash out for my family by all means.” So that’s … the paradigm shift that white supremacy has pushed people into, unfortunately. So what the … white supremacists are trying to do with this case in Cincinnati, where this brother immediately got his lick back after his son got offed by a suspected race soldier. [Police] don’t want that to become contagious, so they got to start getting into psychological warfare through optics. That’s why [police were] surrounding this guy [in court] and being intimidating. That’s for black people nationwide watching to say, … “Hey, don’t try to play with us. We’re going to come down on you hard.” But … people ain’t really afraid of that, you know? So the thing is, it’s a symbolic message of collective punishment, them doing all of that surrounding the suspect and being intimidating. That reinforces that if one black person retaliates, the full weight of white-dominant law enforcement institutions will respond collectively and aggressively — not on the individual, not just on him, but … on the whole group.
‘What Rodney Hinton did? That’s gonna make the next cop think,’ angry TikTok user says in viral video
An angry TikTok user noted in a viral video with over 440,000 views that “what Rodney Hinton did? That’s gonna make the next cop think.” He also appears to argue that rules imposed upon police officers aren’t going to stop them from killing black people — but violence against police in the “streets” may get the attention of law enforcement.
The user’s video attracted more than 4,400 comments — and the majority of them agree with the video creator’s sentiments. One commenter wrote, “It ends right now. No more turning the cheek.” Another wrote that “what [Hinton Jr.] did was right, so now [police] all should fear and hold their partners accountable.”
Viral video creator backs Hinton Jr. — and tells law enforcement: ‘You took his son. He took one of yours.’
A TikTok user created a video that’s gone viral (360,000 views) in which he backs Hinton Jr. and tells law enforcement, “You took his son. He took one of yours.”
The video creator adds that there is such a thing as a “justifiable crash out. This is one of those things. And an unfortunate reality is, in a case like this, look, they’re not gonna tell you the name of the person who actually did it, right? You’re not gonna be able to get your hands on that person. So you know what’s gonna happen now? In order for you to even live with yourself, you gotta get somebody.”
His video attracted over 2,500 comments: One replied, “Let them quake in their boots, wondering who’s next like we have to do.” Another answered, “Revenge is one of my favorite things. I stand with Rodney Hinton.”
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Rodney hinton jr., Ohio, Ryan hinton, Cincinnati police, Hamilton county sheriff’s deputy larry henderson, Police involved shooting, Murder charge, Toure, Luigi mangione, Austin metcalf, Karmelo anthony, Revenge, Retaliation, Eye for an eye, Crime, Featured
