Jonesboro man faces charges for threatening interracial couple

A Jonesboro man is facing both a state civil rights complaint and a criminal threatening charge for allegedly threatening an interracial couple and their children.
More than three months after receiving information about a possible hate crime in Jonesboro, on August 1 Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey filed a complaint under the Maine Civil Rights Act against Dale O'Brien, 52, of Jonesboro for threats against the interracial couple and their children on April 11 near the couple's home in Jonesboro. A release about the complaint was not issued until nearly a month later, on August 30. The 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.
Along with the civil rights complaint filed by the AG's office, the district attorney's office for Washington and Hancock counties also pursued the matter, according to District Attorney Robert Granger. After receiving the case for review from the Washington County Sheriff's Office on April 11 and an email inquiry from the victims on April 24, the DA's office notified the AG's office on April 25 and forwarded the police report for a possible hate crime. On July 19 the DA's office presented the matter to a grand jury, which indicted O'Brien on one count of criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, Class C, which carries a maximum possible sentence of up to five years of imprisonment, a $5,000 fine or both. The case remains pending in the Washington County Unified Court.
Granger comments that "our office quickly acted on the sheriff deputy's report and initiated prosecution. We also immediately referred the matter to the AG's office for consideration of additional action."

Complaint outlined
According to the complaint, O'Brien is a neighbor of the victims, a Black man, his white wife and their three young children. On April 11 the victims were walking their dogs with their children along Corky's Way, a private road, which the owner had previously given them permission to do. The victims were initially approached by O'Brien's wife, who allegedly threatened that they could be shot for walking on private property. The victims informed the woman, as they had on previous occasions, that the owner of the private road had granted them explicit permission to walk along the road and that they were not trespassing.
When the victims exited the private roadway approximately 20 minutes later, they heard three gunshots. O'Brien, whose property abuts the private road, came out from behind his home and allegedly began yelling at the victims and their young children to "get out," before pointing a handgun directly at them for more than 10 seconds. 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.
According to the complaint, this incident was not the first time O'Brien had threatened the victims. In March, he had entered a local hardware store to purchase some spray paint and allegedly told the clerk that he wanted to put up a "No Trespassing" sign because he had "a [racial epithet] problem." O'Brien reportedly said that he believed there was "a [racial epithet]" who could not read and that he was going to shoot the individual if the problem continued. He said he would likely be able to get away with it, referencing an event in the news where someone shot another individual and was not punished. According to the complaint, O'Brien added that he should be able to get away with "shooting one [racial epithet]" as long as he didn't have "to bring him in to tag him," and further boasted about the specific firearm he owned. This incident alarmed the hardware store clerk, who reported the interaction to an employee of the Washington County Sheriff's Office.
The complaint also alleges that O'Brien made racially demeaning comments regarding the couple to neighbors.
Attorney General Frey comments, "There is absolutely no place in Maine for this type of behavior. 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."
O'Brien's attorney, Jeffrey Davidson, did not respond to requests for comment, but in an article in the Portland Press Herald he disputes that O’Brien made any racist statements or threats.
The Maine Civil Rights Act prohibits the use of violence, 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. 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.