After a security guard at Nellie’s Sports Bar dragged a Black woman down a flight of stairs during Pride week, the bar is now at risk of facing fines or losing its liquor license – the latter punishment a possible death knell for the venue as it stands now.

D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (ABC Board) sent the case to the desk of D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine on Wednesday, following an investigation into the incident by the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA).

Racine’s office will now decide whether to proceed with the case. If the attorney general believes there’s enough credible evidence to hold Nellie’s accountable for the events of June 12, the ABC Board will schedule a hearing, and depending on the outcome, fine the bar or revoke its liquor license. (If an establishment loses its liquor license, the same owner could not apply for a new one for five years.)

The ABRA investigation opened on June 13, the Sunday after the night of the assault, when ABRA received a tip on their hotline. A lengthy report detailing the outcome of its investigation alleges that Nellie’s violated D.C. law by allowing illegal or disorderly conduct to take place on their licensed premises.

A spokesperson for Racine’s office confirmed to DCist/WAMU that they have received ABRA’s investigative report, but declined to comment on whether it will recommend that the ABC Board hold a disciplinary hearing. DCist/WAMU called and emailed Nellie’s owner, Doug Schantz, but those requests for comment went unanswered. (Calls to Nellie’s also went answered; its voice mailbox is full.)

A viral video of the June 12 incident has sparked protests for three weekends in a row, as people demand that Schantz issue a public apology to Keisha Young, the 22-year-old college student who was assaulted by Nellie’s security. Many protesters have called for the bar, which has been open for 14 years, to close down for good (it has closed temporarily for the past two weeks).

ABRA’s report details several assaults that occurred at Nellie’s on Saturday, June 12, between patrons and security employees. The investigation, based on police reports, interviews, and security footage, confirms the assault on Young and another patron by security personnel, hired privately by Nellie’s to work at the bar that night.

According to the report, an altercation began on Nellie’s rooftop – which the investigation found was overcrowded at the time. A bartender had called for security after witnessing a group of patrons drinking from a bottle they had brought into the bar. When security attempted to remove patrons, altercations broke out among security and guests, according to the report.

ABRA interviewed one of the security guards, who identified himself as the employee that dragged Young down the steps. The employee told ABRA he was posted at the top of the steps to to keep the area clear and monitor the bathrooms, but that “he didn’t have anything more to add.” According to the report, a second patron was also dragged down the steps by security, and when he attempted to film what was happening, the security employee knocked his phone out of his hands and punched him in the face. Both Young and the second patron filed police reports over the assaults, according to ABRA.

The owner of the private security company, NNB Security, told ABRA that the company has a “no touch” policy regarding interactions with patrons. He said that employees sometimes hold patrons under their arms to escort them out of an establishment, but “should not be punching anyone.” Since the incident, Nellie’s has terminated NNB Security as its contractor. (NNB Security did not immediately return DCist’s email requesting comment, and when DCist called NNB Security’s main phone number, a reporter was told she had the wrong number.)

Ultimately, ABRA’s investigation concluded that the rooftop was overcrowded with little space for patrons to move around, causing for a chaotic scene when security attempted to apprehend the group that brought in outside alcohol.

“[An investigator] was able to observe the difficulty Nellie’s staff and security had attempting to remove patrons through such a crowd causing pushing and shoving into other patrons and getting involved in altercations,” reads the report.

The investigation also revealed that Nellie’s didn’t have a security plan, a required document for an ABC Board license holder, per D.C. law. Nellie’s also didn’t have a settlement agreement, which is a voluntary contract that addresses concerns of the surrounding neighborhood.

In a letter written to ABRA Director Fred Moosally on June 16, Police Chief Robert Contee called for an ABRA hearing to address the incident. Most concerning, Contee writes, is that at no time did Nellie’s ownership or management contact MPD to report the incident.

“Instead, Nellie’s Sports Bar carried on with business as usual,” Contee writes. He goes on to say during the demonstration that followed the next day, drawing over 100 protesters, Schantz didn’t make himself available to ABRA investigators.

“Instead [the owner] left the location, and later dialed 911 from home,” Contee wrote. (Schantz later participated in the ABRA investigation, according to the report).

The following day, Nellie’s released a statement, issuing an apology to “all who witnessed the horrific events” and said it was conducting an internal investigation into the incident.

Young told DCist that week, “the public didn’t really get dragged down the stairs. I did. The public doesn’t have bruises. I do.”

A GoFundMe has been started to help Young pay for legal and mental health services. On the GoFundMe page, Young describes bruises, body aches, and hip pain, as well as feeling anxiety and humiliation.

In the weeks since June 13, groups have been staging demonstrations outside the bar, and plan to return with a #BoycottNellies protest again this Friday. It’s also not the first time Nellie’s has been boycotted over its inclusivity – or lack thereof. In 2018, No Justice No Pride staged a boycott after patrons noticed a “blue lives matter” flag flying above the establishment. Nellie’s apologized and said it learned a lesson about racial inclusivity and that it was planning to make the space more welcoming in the future.

But according to Preston Mitchum, an attorney and organizer with Collective Action for Safe Spaces, Young’s assault shows that little has changed, despite Black LGBTQ+ residents calling out Nellie’s treatment of non-white patrons for years.

“None of this surprises me, and in fact it speaks to the point that many of us have attempted to raise but have continually been knocked down time and again, just because people like it as a bar,” Mitchum says. “We have to get to a place where we have to reckon with [the fact] that our favorite bars are not safe and affirming for many of us.”

The outcome Mitchum says he would like to see extends beyond any legal repercussions potentially handed down from D.C.’s regulatory agencies or the attorney general’s office. He says he wants Nellie’s to close, and for ownership to transfer to a Black queer or trans owner. He also says that bar owners need to start having open conversations and listening sessions to address how queer spaces in D.C. have historically catered and protected white LGBTQ+ individuals, while not offering the same openness to Black patrons. Mitchum tried to do as much with Schantz in 2017, but says that the conversation didn’t move forward.

“Some companies, places, whomever, don’t want to be held accountable,” Mitchum says. “And it should not be on the backs of marginalized communities to demand that they be accountable, especially when they’ve shown us who they are.”

A full copy of the ABRA report: