Muse Bouncers Found Not-Guilty On Charges Stemming From 2023 Summer Brawl

The two Muse bouncers involved in a late-night brawl with patrons outside the bar on Surfside Road in the summer of 2023 were found not-guilty on charges stemming from the incident following a multi-day jury trial in Nantucket District Court this week.

Michael A. Kelly, 60, of Nantucket was found not-guilty on July 9th, 2023 charges of assault & battery with a dangerous weapon (two counts) and assault & battery while Rudolph G. Thompson, 44, of Nantucket was also found not-guilty on a July 9th, 2023 charge of assault & battery.

Both Kelly and Thompson were caught on video engaging in the fight outside the bar. It prompted Muse owner Mike O’Reilly to tell the Current when asked about the incident that members of the security team had to go through additional training and safety procedures. However, O’Reilly stood by his employees from the beginning.

“I’m pretty upset about the whole situation and everything that transpired,” O’Reilly said two years ago. “But charges are happening to the staff and I’m sticking by them. I don’t approve of anything that happened and can’t let them go through this by themselves. The guys just came to work, and a situation broke out. As you know it got out of hand. The guys from Georgia got out of control and I think charges will be brought against them as well. Unfortunately, this incident happened but we had time to regroup and go through training and safety procedures for all.”

Police were not called to The Muse when the brawl occurred during the early morning hours of July 9th, but video of the melee started circulating almost immediately after the incident, prompting the Nantucket Police Department to launch an investigation.

The video - which starts in the middle of the fight - shows members of the security team punching and kicking three men outside The Muse, and the men also assaulting the bouncers. It’s not clear what happened before the recording or what prompted the security team to respond in the way it did.

There is “more to the story than the video,” O’Reilly added.

A witness told the Current at the time of the incident “I just know that everything started inside with two drunk people and then everything continued outside.”

Both Kelly and Thompson were represented by attorney Jim Merberg.