New Hampshire Man John Doran Fined $5,000 for Threatening to Cover Black Man With Gasoline and Burn Him

A white New Hampshire man has been fined $5,000 after threatening to douse a Black man with gasoline and set him on fire while shouting racial slurs at his family.

Rockingham County Superior Court found that John Doran, 62, violated New Hampshire's Civil Rights Act during the incident at a gas station last summer, according to a Monday news release from New Hampshire Deputy Attorney General Jane Young.

Doran was also ordered to refrain from contacting to stay at least 250 feet away from the man, not contact him or the rest of his family and commit no further violations of the Civil Rights Act. Violating the terms of the order, which is effective for three years, could result in Doran being given "future civil and/or criminal penalties to include fines or incarceration."

"Following an evidentiary hearing on March 17, 2021, the court found that on July 29, 2020, Mr. Doran threatened physical force against the victim and the victim's family when he raised and pointed a gas hose in the victim's direction and stated 'get back n----- or I'll f---g burn you! Go back to Africa,' after the victim and the victim's family stopped to address Mr. Doran for shouting racial slurs at them at the Valero gas station in Seabrook," the release states.

"The court concluded that this conduct was motivated by animus towards the victim's race and had the purpose to terrorize or coerce the victim and the victim's family," it continues.

The civil complaint states that the encounter, at a Seabrook, New Hampshire Valero gas station, was unprovoked and began when the out-of-state Black family drove past Doran as he was fueling his motorcycle. Doran allegedly shouted at the family, "Go back to Africa, n-----" and "You're not getting any gas here n-----." A man identified as "J.C." then got out of the car and confronted Doran, leading to the violent threat. Other family members also left the vehicle and urged J.C. to return after the threat was made.

After all the family members returned to the car, the complaint says that Doran left the gas station as he "shouted, "'F---you, n-----s,' and stated, 'Wait till I get back, you better not be here.'" Officers from the Seabrook Police Department arrived and took statements from J.C. and the rest of the family. A short time later, Doran returned to the gas station and spoke to the same officers, while allegedly continuing to refer to the family by the N-word.

Doran claims he was provoked into the making the threat, while prosecutors say that surveillance video documenting the incident does not back up his claim. In January, a Rockingham County grand jury indicted Doran on felony criminal charges that could result in decades behind bars, according to The Portsmouth Herald.

Doran was also charged with allegedly carrying out a physical assault on one of J.C.'s family members as the situation escalated. He claimed that he was attacked by the family instead and that his sunglasses were stolen. After speaking to police, Doran entered the store and inquired about both his sunglasses and whether he "look[ed] bad" on the surveillance footage, according to the complaint.

Newsweek reached out to Doran's defense attorney and the New Hampshire Department of Justice for comment.