By: Annabelle Ma

Reggie Ray, 42, was accused of using a chair to attack others during a brawl in Montgomery, Alabama. Last weekend, he turned himself in to the Montgomery Police Department and was charged with disorderly conduct, Capt. Jarret Williams said. On Friday, the authorities said that Ray was the fifth person charged in a fight that captured national attention due to its racially charged nature.

After the police charged four other people with assault related to the brawl, Mr. Ray was arrested. The brawl broke out on August 5 at a waterfront where a group of white boaters attacked a Black cruise captain.

When the Harriott II, a river cruise ship, came to shore, a pontoon boat was docked in its designated spot. For 45 minutes, the captain of the Harriot II instructed the passengers on the pontoon boat how to move. However, the white boaters on the pontoon boat responded by cursing, making rude gestures, and taunting.

Dameion Pickett, one of the co-captains of the Harriott, was given a ride on a small boat to talk to the owners of the pontoon boat. But when Mr. Pickett, who is Black, tried to move the boat, the white boat owners confronted and attacked him. The Harriott’s crew tried to help defend him.

Soon, a fight broke out. Many videos of this fight went viral on social media. Mr. Ray, who is part of Harriott’s crew, was seen throwing a chair and striking a white man and a white woman while trying to defend Mr. Pickett. Videos showed white men punching Mr. Pickett and one of them even tried to place Mr. Pickett in a headlock.

The four people that turned themselves into the police were Allen Todd, Zachery Shipman, Richard Roberts, and Mary Todd. Mr. Todd and Mr. Shipman were charged with one count of third degree-assault, a misdemeanor. Mr. Roberts was charged with two counts of third-degree assault, and Ms. Todd was charged with third-degree assault.

“In Montgomery not only will we protect our team members, but we will protect our citizens. If you violate the sanctity of our community and the safety of our citizens, then you will be brought to justice,” Montgomery’s first Black mayor, Steven L. Reed, said on Facebook.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/12/us/montgomery-riverfront-brawl-charges.html