Crime
The couple allegedly threw a piece of wood at a group of Hispanic diners, sprayed them with water, and called them several racist slurs.
May 27, 2026 | 7:55 PM
2 minutes to read
An East Boston couple is facing civil rights and assault charges after they allegedly attacked people dining at a restaurant next to their house, prosecutors said.
Arielle Raso, 37, is charged with seven counts of assault and battery, seven counts of committing a 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, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said in a press release.
Gregory Raso, 39, is charged with seven counts of assault and battery, seven counts of committing a civil rights violation, and one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, according to prosecutors. The husband and wife were arraigned Tuesday in the East Boston division of Boston Municipal Court, court records show.
At about 6:45 p.m. Monday, Boston police responded to Tertulias Cafe, located at 26 Porter St., for a noise complaint from the Rasos, who live next door to the restaurant, prosecutors said. Officers told the husband and wife to contact them again if the noise continued past 11 p.m., according to the DA’s office. Boston’s noise ordinance generally prohibits anything louder than 50 decibels from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Officers returned to the cafe at about 8:30 p.m. for a report of an assault. When they arrived, one of the alleged victims told them that she and her group were gathered at the restaurant when a verbal altercation began between them and the Rasos, according to prosecutors.
The Rasos allegedly complained about the noise and told the victims, who are Hispanic, to “get out of this country,” the DA’s office said. They also allegedly used racial slurs and threatened to kill the victims.
The incident escalated to physical violence when the Rasos allegedly broke off a piece of a shared fence and threw it at the victims, striking a child. They also allegedly sprayed the group with a hose, which officers heard Arielle Raso admit to while they interviewed the victims, according to the DA’s office.
Police also allegedly heard Arielle Raso say “I will kill you, I don’t give a [expletive]” and “I’m [expletive] done with all those [multiple racial expletives],” according to prosecutors.
The Rasos each paid $750 bail and were ordered to stay away from the restaurant, as well as to have no contact with the victims or any other patrons. They are scheduled to return to court July 28 for a pretrial hearing, the DA’s office said.
“The assaults on this group were terrible alone, but the injection of such vile racial rhetoric makes this incident even more appalling,” Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in the press release. “Our office will not—and our society must not—allow such actions to go unnoticed and unpunished.”
The Rasos’ attorneys could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday evening.
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