Massachusetts couple accused of racial assault at group dining at restaurant; child also struck

BOSTON – A Massachusetts husband and wife are facing numerous civil rights and assault charges after spraying water and throwing pieces of wood at a group dining at a restaurant next to the couple’s Porter Street house, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.  

37-year-old Arielle Raso was charged in East Boston BMC Tuesday with seven counts of assault and battery, seven counts of civil rights violation, seven counts of threatening to commit a crime, and one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a child under 14.

39-year-old Gregory Raso was charged with seven counts of assault and battery, seven counts of civil rights violation, and one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Judge Debra Delvecchio set bail at $750 each and ordered the Rasos to stay away from the incident location and to have no contact with the victims or any restaurant patrons. The Rasos will return to court for a pretrial hearing.

At about 6:45 p.m. on Monday, Boston police responded to Tertulia’s Cafe at 26 Porter Street in East Boston for a noise complaint issued by Arielle and Gregory Raso, who live next door to the restaurant. Officers told the Rasos to contact them again if the noise persisted past 11:00 p.m.

At around 8:30 p.m., officers returned to Tertulia’s Cafe for a report of an assault in progress. They spoke with a victim, who said that she and several others were gathered at the restaurant when a verbal altercation began between the Raso couple and the party. The victim said the Rasos complained about the noise and told the victims, who are Hispanic, to “get out of this country.”  They also used racial slurs and threatened to kill the victims.

The Rasos then broke off a piece of the shared fence dividing the property and threw it at the group, striking a child. The Rasos also sprayed the victims with a hose. All of the victims reported being hit by water.  While interviewing the victims, officers heard Arielle Raso admit she sprayed the group with a hose and heard her say “I will kill you, I don’t give a [expletive],” followed by “I’m [expletive] done with all those [multiple racial expletives],”

“The assaults on this group were terrible alone, but the injection of such vile racial rhetoric makes this incident even more appalling. Our office will not—and our society must not—allow such actions to go unnoticed and unpunished,” Hayden said.

In the summer of 2022 Hayden expanded his civil rights team, adding designated prosecutors in district court and superior court.  Hayden took the step after several racially-charged incidents in and around Boston that year, including a march through the city by the hate group NSC-131 on Independence Day weekend.

All charged individuals are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.