Nellie’s Sports Bar will pay fine, have liquor license suspended for assault

A Northwest D.C. bar is being fined, and its liquor license suspended for a week, as punishment for an incident in which a private security guard dragged a young Black woman down the stairs.

Viral cell phone video showing 22-year-old Keisha Young being dragged headfirst down a stairwell at Nellie’s Sports Bar last June triggered a summerlong boycott campaign by local activists and community members demanding accountability from its owners.



The D.C. attorney general’s office is now fining the popular U Street gay bar $5,000 and has ordered its license to serve alcohol suspended from Dec. 20 to Dec. 26.

The order includes 17 additional days stayed for one year that will be cleared if there are no further infractions.

Nellie’s will be required to submit a new security plan to the District’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration within the next 10 days adhering to city code on conflict resolution and handling violence incidents.

Luke Garrett

Luke Garrett is a D.C. native dedicated to journalism. He is a reporter and the creator, host and producer of the original WTOP podcast, “DMV Download.” The podcast debuted in 2022. On the show, Garrett takes a weekly look at the biggest stories and ideas in the D.C. region.

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