PORTLAND, Maine — Maine Attorney General Janet Mills announced Monday that her office has filed a civil rights complaint against two New Gloucester brothers who allegedly assaulted a black man in Portland earlier this month.
Benjamin W. Bean, 30, and Charles J. Bean Jr., 35, were charged with multiple counts after what Portland police called a “racially motivated” attack on April 19.
The Bean brothers were fighting with another man when a crowd gathered around, according to accounts by the police and attorney general’s office. The brothers then allegedly singled out the only black onlooker and attacked him, yelling racial epithets and threatening to kill him.
“This behavior is absolutely outrageous and has no place in our society,” said Mills in a statement. “We will protect the right of every Mainer to enjoy the rights and privileges afforded to them under the Maine and U.S. Constitutions without interference based on the color of their skin.”
Mills is seeking an injunction under the Maine Civil Rights Act to permanently block the Bean brothers from having any contact with the victim or his family, or from encouraging others to do so.
The complaint, which the attorney general said has been filed in Cumberland County Superior Court, is separate from the criminal charges Portland police have already filed against the brothers.
The victim suffered facial injuries and scrapes and bruises in the attack, according to police. He was treated and then released from a local hospital, the Portland Police Department said at the time.
Charles Bean has been charged with assault and interference of constitutional rights, while Benjamin Bean is accused of assault, interference of constitutional rights and violating conditions of release.
