Police Charge Bangor Man In Assault, AG Says Attack Not Racially Motivated [UPDATE]

A Bangor man faces charges for an alleged attack in Downtown Bangor that some believe may have been a hate crime.

Bangor Police Sgt. Tim Cotton said the incident happened on Friday near the intersection of Somerset and Essex Streets in Bangor. A Bangor man was reportedly assaulted, and witnesses said they felt the attack could have been racially motivated, according to police. The victim, who has not been identified, was not seriously injured.

Bangor resident Kate Dickerson told WLBZ-TV that she and her husband walked by right after the attack, and the man told them he'd been punched in the face by a man who told him that Trump would deport him. Three Bangor city councilors also took to social media to condemn the attack.

An investigation over the weekend led police to 42-year-old Joshua Pendergast of Bangor, who was charged on Monday with Class D assault.

Police said Pendergast denied making the statements attributed to him, and the Maine Attorney General's Office later concluded that the assault was not racially motivated.

Pendergast is expected to make his first court appearance on Dec. 1.