Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey on Tuesday filed a civil rights complaint against a Kittery man who allegedly made racist and xenophobic threats to a man who had done work for him.
Alexander Treshinsky, 35, hired the victim, a 35-year-old immigrant from the Democratic Republic of Congo, to replace flooring in his business, the AG’s office said in a news release. When the worker requested payment, Treshinsky allegedly sent him a series of threatening, vulgar, racist and xenophobic messages.
The attorney general’s complaint asks the court to order that Treshinsky have no contact with the victim or any member of his family and comply with the Maine Civil Rights Act in the future.
Text messages sent by Treshinsky included a threat to commit a sexual act against the victim’s daughter, according to the AG’s office. Other messages included: “Remember my face, ‘boss’”; “Go away you ugly [expletive]. You dumb [expletive racist slur]”; “Do you want help to leave the country. Not your country…My country”; and “Why did your tribe sell you away? They don’t want you hahahahaha.”
In two voicemails to the victim, Treshinsky allegedly said: “Get the [expletive] out of business in America. I will be your worst enemy until you are gone”; “I promise you … I will chase you down until your [expletive] children’s children’s children give up”; “Understand … you have a [expletive] enemy now. I will follow you until the end of the [expletive] earth until you fall off it”; and “I’m coming after you bud. You, your business, everything.”
The Maine Civil Rights Act authorizes the attorney general to “seek a court order against any person who intentionally interferes or attempts to intentionally interfere with another person’s legal rights through the threat of physical force or violence or engaging in conduct that would cause a reasonable person to suffer emotional distress.”
Violating an order issued under the civil rights act can be punished with up to 364 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.
