Attorney General Janet Mills announces complaint filed against Jesse James Taylor

September 14, 2017

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: September 14, 2017
CONTACT: Andrew Roth-Wells Telephone: (207) 626-8887

Attorney General Janet Mills announces complaint filed against Jesse James Taylor Taylor accused of harassing workers at Sisters Gourmet Deli in Portland

AUGUSTA ?Attorney General Janet Mills announced today that her office has filed a complaint under the Maine Civil Rights Act against Jesse James Taylor, age 36, in the Superior Court in Portland.

According to the State?s complaint, on July 29, 2017, Taylor threatened the employees of Sisters Gourmet Deli in Portland with violence based on his bias against their sex and/or sexual orientation. The State is requesting an order barring Taylor from having contact with the owner or employees of Sisters Gourmet Deli; from coming into the Deli or onto Monument Square, where the Deli is located; and from violating the Maine Civil Rights Act in the future.

The complaint alleges that Taylor came into the restaurant and asked one of the four female employees if she had ?any weed.? When the employee responded in the negative, Taylor accused the female employees of thinking ?you are better workers than a hard-working man.? He went on to yell anti-gay epithets at the female employees and threatened that they were ?going to burn in hell? and they were ?going to die.? He said, ?I know your faces.? He continued to threaten and harass the female staff until two male passersby were summoned to the Deli and asked him to leave the premises.

Attorney General Janet Mills said: ?No one should be subject to bias-motivated threats of violence at the workplace or elsewhere. My office is bringing this action to protect the female staff of Sisters Gourmet Deli from Taylor?s threats of harm based on his apparent bias against women, especially women who he perceives to be gay.?

AG Mills also expressed her thanks to the Portland Police Department for their investigation of this case.

The Maine Civil Rights Act authorizes the Attorney General to bring an action against any person who uses violence or the threat of violence based on his bias against the victim?s race, color, religion, sex, ancestry, national origin, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation.

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