A night out at a York County bar ended in a violent confrontation that police say was fueled by racial hostility.
Authorities allege that on January 10, a woman from Baltimore was attacked at the Hanover Eagles club after an argument escalated into physical violence. A local couple — Richard Willis Mitchell Jr., 62, and Sara Tresnak, 51 — have been charged with misdemeanor ethnic intimidation, disorderly conduct, and harassment.
According to court documents and reporting from The Evening Sun, the woman was approached by the pair and questioned about where she was from and her ethnicity. She told them her father is Black and Puerto Rican and her mother is Italian, police said.
Investigators say the exchange quickly turned threatening. Mitchell allegedly told the woman that Hanover was a “redneck town” and warned her she “wasn’t going to make it here.” Police say moments later he grabbed her by the neck and forced her to the ground while Tresnak struck her repeatedly.
During the assault, Mitchell allegedly yelled racial slurs, including the N-word, and told the woman she “didn’t belong here,” should “go back to pig town,” and that “this is a MAGA town,” according to the complaint.
Other patrons intervened and pulled the attackers away, stopping the beating, police said.
When officers arrived, they documented injuries that appeared consistent with the woman’s account, including bruising around her eye and arm as well as scrapes and abrasions. The criminal complaint states that multiple witnesses supported her version of events.
The couple later acknowledged there was an altercation but claimed the woman attacked them first. Police say witness statements and physical evidence did not support that claim.
Mitchell and Tresnak are scheduled to return to court on February 17 as prosecutors continue pursuing charges tied to what police describe as a racially motivated assault.
