AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey said Wednesday he's filed a Maine Civil Rights Act complaint against a Jonesboro man for "threats against an interracial couple and their children."
The attorney general's office said in a news release it had filed the complaint against Dale O'Brien, 52, for threats he made on April 11 near the family's Jonesboro home.
"The attorney general’s complaint seeks an order prohibiting O’Brien from having any contact with the man and from violating the Maine Civil Rights Act in the future," a news release from the attorney general stated.
O'Brien is a neighbor of the victims, a Black man, his white wife, and their two kids, according to the complaint. On April 11, the victims were walking their dogs with their children present on a private road. They had permission from the owner of that road to do so, according to the release.
O'Brien's wife came over to the victims and told them they "could be shot" for walking on private property. The victims then told her, as they had before, the road's owner had given them permission to walk there, the release stated.
"When the victims exited the private roadway approximately 20 minutes later, they heard three gunshots," the release stated. "O’Brien, whose property abuts the private road, came out from behind his home and began yelling at the victims and their young children to “get out,” before pointing a handgun directly at them. O’Brien only lowered the handgun after one of the victims pulled out a cell phone to record the interaction. The victims and their family feared for their safety and reported O’Brien’s behavior to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office."
“There is absolutely no place in Maine for this type of behavior," Frey said in the release. "A young couple walking with their children down a road they had an express right to be on should be free from the ignorant, dangerous behavior we allege the defendant subjected them to. No one should be targeted by threats of violence based on their race and my office will actively confront racist threats in our communities.”
The use of violence and the threat of violence or property damage against any person motivated by that person’s race, color, religion, sex, ancestry, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity is prohibited under the Maine Civil Rights Act, according to the release.
"Any violation of an injunctive order under the act is a Class D crime, punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a $2,000 fine," the release stated.
To read the full complaint, click here.