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A waterfront brawl in Montgomery, Alabama, went viral. What happened and why?

The riverfront worker who was attacked said he “held on for dear life” as a group of white boaters jumped him in a large brawl that broke out at the Montgomery Riverfront in Alabama on Aug. 5.

In a handwritten account he filed with law enforcement after the Aug. 5 melee and obtained by NBC News, Dameion Pickett recalled what happened the day when the men refused to move their boat so a dinner cruise riverboat could dock.

“A tall, older white guy came over and hit me in the face. I took my hat off and threw it in the air,” he wrote. “Somebody hit me from behind. I started choking the older guy in front of me so he couldn’t anymore, pushing him back at the same time.”

Pickett has not made a public statement regarding the incident and did not respond to NBC News' request for comment.

Videos that went viral on social media showed a group of white men attacking Pickett. The footage caused an outcry, with the Montgomery mayor addressing the altercation and police issuing arrest warrants.

Allen Todd, 23, and Zachery Shipman, 25, have been charged with one misdemeanor count of assault in the third degree, a spokesperson for the Montgomery Police Department said.

Another man, Richard Roberts, 48, faces two third-degree assault charges and turned himself in on Aug. 8.

A fourth suspect in the case, Mary Todd, 21, turned herself in on Aug. 10 and was charged with misdemeanor third-degree assault.

A fifth suspect, Reggie Ray, 42, turned himself in on Aug. 11 and was charged with disorderly conduct. Police had previously sought Ray after he was seen wielding a folding chair in the melee on social media videos.

So what exactly happened? Read on for a full explanation of this now-viral incident.

What happened at the Montgomery Riverfront

A large brawl broke out Saturday, Aug. 5, shortly before 7 p.m. at the Alabama capital after Pickett attempted to clear a dock along the river so that the Harriott II Riverboat could dock, witnesses told NBC News . The brawl was fueled by alcohol and adrenaline, witnesses also said.

When a group of rowdy boaters refused to move their pontoon at the Montgomery Riverfront, they attacked Pickett when he untied their boat to make way for the riverboat, witnesses said.

In video shared with NBC News , after a group of what appears to be white men ran along the dock to attack the worker, who is Black, more people joined in and appeared to defend Pickett. Other footage shared with NBC News shows people punching and shoving one another, with one person falling into the water as police struggled to contain the chaos.

The Riverfront is a popular destination with a park, stadium, amphitheater and riverboat.

What police say about the fight

Montgomery Police Chief Darryl Albert, in a news conference on Aug. 8 , confirmed that a group of private white boaters had attacked a Black dockworker, identified as Pickett. Later, police would identify Pickett as the assistant boat captain of the riverboat.

He had been trying to move the private boaters' pontoon to make way for the riverboat.

As passengers aboard the riverboat — more than 200 — waited at least 30 minutes, Pickett tried to get the rowdy private boaters to move. Several members of the private pontoon group then attacked Pickett, Albert said.

Albert added that police arrived on the scene at 7:18 p.m. local time — about 18 minutes after the riverboat captain had called. He said 13 people were detained, questioned and then released.

What did the attacked dockworker say about the incident?

In a handwritten statement filed with police and obtained by NBC News, Pickett said he asked the group “five or six times” to move their boat.

When he and a dockhand were ignored and given the finger, he says, they untied the group’s pontoon boat, moved it “three steps to the right” and re-tied it to a post so the Harriott II could dock.

“By that time, two people ran up behind me,” Pickett wrote, adding that a man in a red hat yelled, “Don’t touch that boat motherf---er or we will beat your ass.”

He said the men continued to threaten him and then one of them called another man over.

“They both were very drunk,” Pickett wrote, adding that then the pontoon boat owner went over “started getting loud … He got into my face. ‘This belongs to the f---ing public.’ I told him this was a city dock.”

That’s when the brawl began. Pickett wrote, “A tall, older white guy came over and hit me in the face. I took my hat off and threw it in the air. Somebody hit me from behind. I started choking the older guy in front of me so he couldn’t anymore, pushing him back at the same time.”

Adding, “Then the guy in the red shorts came up and tackled me … I went to the ground. I think I hit one of them.”

Sharing more recollections from the fight, he said, “I can’t tell you how long it lasted. I grabbed one of them and just held on for dear life.”

Pickett was eventually helped by other people but noticed the brawl was getting out of hand, writing, “One of my co-workers had jumped into the water and was pushing people and fighting.”

He added that his nephew joined the melee and he had also seen his sister being choked during the fight.

As more chaos ensued, the riverboat had not been tied to the dock but Pickett helped the passengers off the boat. He wrote that he apologized “for the inconvenience. They all said I did nothing wrong.”

“Some of them were giving me cards with their names and numbers on it. Some said they had it all on film, so I pointed them out to MPD,” he added. After the altercation, he was treated at the emergency room where he was treated for bruised ribs and bumps on his head.

What witnesses say about the brawl

Witnesses told NBC News a similar version of events. Christa Owen said she was aboard the Harriott II with her husband and daughter when the brawl broke out.

“What was hard is we were all on the boat and witnessing our poor crewman being attacked by these guys, and we couldn’t do anything about it,” Owen said.

“It was really difficult to watch, and, like I said, we felt helpless, because we were forced to be spectators,” Owen added.

Owen was among those who recorded the altercations, explaining that it was “inexcusable behavior.”

Additionally, Leslie Mawhorter also on Harriott II, added: “They just didn’t think the rules applied to them. It was so avoidable. This never had to have happened. Everything just spiraled from there.”

“I knew something was going to go down, because their attitude was just, ‘You can’t tell us what to do.’ They were going to be confrontational regardless of who you were,” Mawhorter continued.

Have police made any arrests?

Four men and one woman are facing charges , according to police: Richard Roberts, 48; Reggie Ray, 42; Allen Todd, 23; and Zachery Shipman, 25, and Mary Todd, 21.

“There was no need for this event to take the path it did,” Albert told reporters earlier this week. “The people of Montgomery, we’re better than that. We’re a fun city, and we don’t want this type of activity to shed a dark eye on what this city’s all about.”

Was the fight racially motivated?

In the press conference on Aug. 8, Albert said investigators do not believe the incident was racially motivated.

He said that the local FBI and district attorney’s offices are involved in the ongoing investigation. 

“I don’t think you can judge any community by any one incident. I think it’s important for us to address this as an isolated incident, one that was avoidable,” Albert said. “One that was brought on by individuals who chose the wrong path of action.”

What the mayor of Montgomery said about the altercation

On Sunday, Aug. 6, Mayor Steven L. Reed released a statement saying that “justice will be served” after individuals attacked “a man who was doing his job.”

“Last night, the Montgomery Police Department acted swiftly to detain several reckless individuals for attacking a man who was doing his job. Warrants have been signed and justice will be served,” the statement posted on social media read. “This was an unfortunate incident which never should have occurred. As our police department investigates these intolerable actions, we should not become desensitized to violence of any kind in our community.”

“Those who choose violent actions will be held accountable by our criminal justice system,” the statement concluded.

Reed shared how he felt about the incident during a press conference on Aug. 7.

"I feel like it’s an unfortunate incident. Our statement that we put out the other day is that it’s something that shouldn’t have happened and it’s something that we’re investigating right now," Reed said. "We’ll continue to go through that process before we take any additional steps."

When asked if Reed thought the incident was racially charged, he said the brawl is still under investigation, and that authorities are "investigating all angles."

The investigation is ongoing.

EDITOR'S NOTE (Aug. 11, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. ET): Previous police statements listed the man attacked as Damien Pickett and one of the suspects as Zachary Shipman. On Aug. 11, officials corrected their names' spellings to Dameion Pickett and Zachery Shipman. This story has been updated to reflect the correct spelling.

Liz Calvario is a Los Angeles-based reporter and editor for TODAY.com who covers entertainment, pop culture and trending news.

Anna Kaplan is a news and trending reporter for TODAY.com.

Sam Kubota is a senior digital editor and journalist for TODAY Digital based in Los Angeles. She joined NBC News in 2019.

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Four Charged With Assault After Alabama Riverfront Brawl

Three men and a woman turned themselves in to the Montgomery police this week after an attack on a Black boat captain that garnered heavy backlash on social media.

By Remy Tumin

Four people have turned themselves in to the police and have been charged with assault in connection with a brawl that broke out along the waterfront in Montgomery, Ala., last weekend, officials said, as the investigation into the racially charged melee continues .

The arrests came days after a group of white boaters attacked a Black riverboat cruise captain on Saturday. Warrants for three of the boaters were issued on Tuesday, and the Montgomery police had asked them during a news conference to come forward.

Allen Todd, 23, and Zachery Shipman, 25, were in custody of the Montgomery police as of Wednesday, the police said, and each was charged with one count of third-degree assault, a misdemeanor. A third man, Richard Roberts, 48, turned himself in on Tuesday and was charged with two counts of third-degree assault. All three have posted bail, officials said.

On Thursday, Mary Todd, 21, turned herself in and was also charged with third degree assault, the police said. She was being held for 12 hours, according to court records.

The misdemeanor assault is penalized by a fine of up to $6,000 and up to one year in jail. The four accused, all of whom are white, are scheduled for arraignment on Sept. 1.

The Montgomery police said on Thursday that no other charges had been levied, but more could come. While the fight appeared to be largely down racial lines, the police would not pursue hate crime charges, they said. They also will not pursue charges of inciting a riot.

The weekend’s violent scene was captured on video by several bystanders and drew a large social media response, including cartoons , TikTok videos , a song and re-enactments . Many of the videos, which offer multiple angles and vantage points of the incident, are now a part of the police investigation, said Chief Darryl J. Albert of the Montgomery Police.

The altercation began at the city’s popular Riverfront Park after a pontoon boat docked in a space designated for the Harriott II, a riverboat cruise that was returning from a trip up the Alabama River. For 45 minutes, the captain of the Harriott II instructed the pontoon boat via the public announcement system to move out of the way, but to no avail. Instead, the white boaters responded with “gestures, curse words and taunting,” Chief Albert said at a news conference on Tuesday.

At that point, Dameion Pickett, a co-captain of the Harriott, was given a ride on a small boat to the dock so he could talk to the pontoon owners. When Mr. Pickett, who is Black, tried to move the pontoon, the owners of the boat confronted and attacked him. Members of the Harriott’s crew and bystanders came to Mr. Pickett’s defense, and a melee broke out. One man was seen on video wielding a folding chair to use against the boaters.

Mr. Pickett and an unnamed 16-year-old male, who had taken Mr. Pickett to the dock, were injured in the brawl.

The dock’s history has become a part of the broader conversation around the fight and its racial overtones: The altercation occurred at the same dock where enslaved Africans arrived by steamboat to be sold in the center of town.

An earlier version of this article, relying on information provided by the Montgomery Police Department, misspelled the given names of two people. The boat co-captain is Dameion Pickett, not Damien; and a person charged is Zachery Shipman, not Zachary.

How we handle corrections

Remy Tumin is a reporter for The Times covering breaking news and other topics. More about Remy Tumin

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The riverfront brawl in Alabama reignites national debate over race

Dustin Jones

The Harriott II riverboat sits at the Riverfront dock in Montgomery, Ala. Three white men have been charged with assault for attacking the ship's co-captain last Saturday, which turned into a brawl along racial lines, as seen in dozens of videos online. Kim Chandler/AP hide caption

The Harriott II riverboat sits at the Riverfront dock in Montgomery, Ala. Three white men have been charged with assault for attacking the ship's co-captain last Saturday, which turned into a brawl along racial lines, as seen in dozens of videos online.

Warning: This story contains profanity and a racial slur.

Police in Montgomery, Ala., say that they have not found evidence that last weekend's riverfront brawl — in which a large number of people squared off against each along racial lines — rises to the level of a hate crime.

However, a week later, people who have seen videos of the fight, including experts, pundits and social media users, remain divided: Some are saying race had nothing to do with the incident, while others say the footage clearly shows how groups divided by race.

What's certain is that the incident has reignited conversations about race across the U.S.

I've spent my career explaining race, but hit a wall with Montgomery brawl memes

What montgomery officials are saying.

Montgomery Police Chief Darryl Albert told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday that the brawl doesn't meet the criteria for hate crime charges under federal law. He said that he also understands why people are raising the issue of race.

"That's why this department went above and beyond and looked under every stone for answers," Albert said, adding that the charges that were brought accurately reflect the evidence available at the time. Investigations are ongoing.

Steven L. Reed, Montgomery's first Black mayor , has promised to hold the people responsible for fight accountable. He says he has two different perspectives on the incident, one as a public servant and one as Black man.

Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed (seen here on Aug. 8 speaking to the press with Montgomery Police Chief Darryl Albert in the background) says the people responsible for the fight will be held accountable. Julie Bennett/Getty Images hide caption

Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed (seen here on Aug. 8 speaking to the press with Montgomery Police Chief Darryl Albert in the background) says the people responsible for the fight will be held accountable.

"At this point in the investigation, the FBI has not classified these attacks as a hate crime. As a former judge and as an elected official, I understand that and will trust this process and the integrity of our justice system," Reed said in a statement to NPR on Thursday.

"However, my perspective as a Black man in Montgomery differs from my perspective as mayor. From what we've seen from the history of our city — a place tied to both the pain and the progress of this nation – it seems to meet the moral definition, and this kind of violence cannot go unchecked."

He also says that as more information becomes available, his office will work with the U.S. Justice Department to "thoroughly vet whether new evidence reclassifies the incident as a hate crime per FBI protocol."

How the brawl unfolded

Dozens of videos of the incident last Saturday began surfacing earlier this week, including one from Alabama political reporter Josh Moon, who shared a video of the fight on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. It shows that the incident at Montgomery's Riverfront Park appears to have started after a group of people docked their pontoon boat in a space reserved for the city's riverboat, the Harriott II.

A screenshot from one of the videos of the brawl in Montgomery, Ala., on Saturday. The video shows a fight that broke out between a boat co-captain and several men who appeared to be parking their pontoon boat in a space reserved for the city's riverboat. @Josh_Moon/Screenshot by NPR hide caption

A screenshot from one of the videos of the brawl in Montgomery, Ala., on Saturday. The video shows a fight that broke out between a boat co-captain and several men who appeared to be parking their pontoon boat in a space reserved for the city's riverboat.

After 45 or so minutes of announcements over a loudspeaker asking for the pontoon boat to be moved, the Black co-captain of the Harriott II, named as Dameion Pickett in court documents, and a white 16-year-old deckhand, who NPR isn't naming because he's a minor, went ashore to move the craft so the riverboat could dock, said Albert, the police chief.

Pickett, 43, was confronted by several men from the pontoon boat, and heated conversation escalated to a fight. Video appears to show Richard Roberts, 48, striking Pickett first. Allen Todd and Zachery Shipman joined the fight, punching and kicking Pickett.

Another Harriott II crew member, Crystal Warren, witnessed the incident from aboard the riverboat. Her son is the 16-year-old deckhand, who was allegedly assaulted by people associated with the pontoon boat . She said in a sworn statement to police that she heard one of the men yell, "F*** that n*****" as Pickett was trying to move the vessel.

3 men are being charged with assault for the waterfront brawl in Montgomery

Warren also said that one of the men fighting Harriot II crew members was heard saying he was "getting his gun." She said a riverboat employee tackled the man as he appeared to try and get the weapon.

As of Friday, Roberts has been charged with two counts of 3rd degree assault, while Todd, 23 , and Shipman , 25, each face one count of 3rd degree assault. They are scheduled to be arraigned on these misdemeanor charges on Sept. 1. (A fourth person, Mary Todd, 21, has also been charged with one count of 3rd degree assault.)

NPR attempted to reach the defendants for comment, but those efforts were unsuccessful.

Why conversations about race are hard for officials

It's not surprising that authorities have been reluctant to discuss race, says Christina Ferraz , a public relations consultant who specializes in reaching communities of color.

Public officials can be risk-averse on the topic because of its general divisiveness in today's "culture wars," says Ferraz .

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"As this conflict may be identified as racially motivated, but not yet been charged as a hate crime, it can be considered slander and defamation of character for a public official to make a statement on the conflict without anyone being charged," Ferraz tells NPR. "Public officials can be sued and this can negatively impact their brand reputation with donors and constituents."

NPR reached out to the Montgomery Police Department for further comment, but did not receive a response.

One historian says the question of race is clear

Formal hate crime charges haven't been made, but observers like Derryn Moten , a professor of American history at Alabama State University, are blunt when describing Saturday's attack: "I completely reject the idea that race had no part or played no part in that incident."

To those who disagree, he says, "That's not what my eyes saw, that's not how my brain understood what I was looking at."

Moten, who also serves as chair of the university's Department of History and Political Science, says the fight took place in the area where enslaved people were brought in by boat on the Alabama River — and mere blocks from warehouses where they were held before being sold at auction.

Media outlets and pundits have been discussing these ties between Montgomery's racial history and the brawl. But Moten says what happened in Montgomery isn't exclusive to the South; it's a national problem.

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"The incident that happened in Montgomery is not unique to Montgomery," he says. "I don't want, or would not want, anybody to think, 'Oh, these are the types of things that just happen in the South.' No. Sadly, they can happen anywhere in the United States."

He says that race is a factor in many of the issues that currently divide the country, including critical race theory, what some politicians and conservative activists refer to as "cancel culture" and "wokeness," police use of deadly force, and how American history is taught.

When Republicans Attack 'Cancel Culture,' What Does It Mean?

"The time period that we're experiencing socially and politically in our country is really interesting in that there seems to be an effort among some, for lack of a better word, to sanitize American history, particularly American history as it relates to enslavement, as it relates to immigration, as it relates to the forced migration of Native people," Moten says. "And all of this done in an effort to paint the United States as exceptional. And I think any honest person who reads American history would find it impossible to accept that notion."

Despite the painful racial fault lines of the U.S. today, Moten says he remains optimistic that things will get better with time, and that "good ultimately will triumph."

"I'm a student of history, so I have a lot of evidence to back that up," he says, citing the reunification of Germany, the end of apartheid in South Africa and, closer to home, the success of the Montgomery bus boycott .

"I think one of the difficult things for a lot of people to accept is that we have to work constantly at making sure that equal protection means equal protection for all. That equal rights means equal rights for all. And that we can't rest on our laurels."

Correction Aug. 12, 2023

An earlier photo caption incorrectly referred to a dock worker instead of a boat co-captain.

Several people detained after fight breaks out at Montgomery’s Riverfront Park in Alabama

Update : Montgomery police say 4 active warrants out after brawl at Riverfront Park in Alabama

Several people were taken into custody Saturday night after a fight broke out at Montgomery’s Riverfront Park in Alabama, authorities said.

The Montgomery Police Department responded to a disturbance at the 200 block of Coosa Street in Montgomery, Alabama, at 7 p.m. after a large group of people were fighting. Several people were detained, police said.

A video of the incident, which appeared to be racially divided, was shared Sunday on social media. It’s been reported that it began because a pontoon boat was blocking dock space needed to park a riverboat. That area is the regular spot reserved for the Harriott II Riverboat.

Watch the video to see the massive boat deck brawl that led to several people being detained.

One short video, posted on social media by Josh Moon of the Alabama Political Reporter, shows several white people fighting a single Black man, who according to Jasmine Williams of WSFA is a dock worker.

The only audio heard is from witnesses yelling, but it appears to begin with an argument between the Black man and one of the white men. Another white man rushes and hits the Black man, who backs up and tosses his hat into the air. Then the fight begins in earnest, and several white people begin hitting the Black man.

During the video, one witness, apparently watching from the riverboat, screamed repeatedly, “Y’all help that brother!” to onlookers who were on shore. It appears some people from the shore did join in to defend him, and the video shows at least one Black man dive into the water from the riverboat.

“Get up there, young buck!” yelled another voice on the video.

By the time the swimmer climbed up onto the dock, about a minute into the video, most of the altercation appeared to be over in Moon's video.

A separate video posted by Lauryn Lauren shows scenes after that, as the Harriott II was preparing to dock. A group of people approached the pontoon boat, and more fighting broke out. At least one person fell into the water from the dock. Authorities were soon on the scene and police began taking people into custody .

Authorities have not released the names of the detained suspects. Charges against anyone involved in the fight are pending, MPD said.

Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel can be contacted at   [email protected]

Alabama boat fight: What happened, and who’s been charged so far

Montgomery brawl: police announce arrests.

Montgomery Police announce arrests after a brawl at Riverfront Park over the weekend.

Three men are facing charges following a riverfront brawl in Montgomery, Alabama , that gained national attention after multiple videos circulated online showing a group of white people beating a Black boat captain, sparking a massive fight. 

Montgomery Police Chief Darryl Albert provided an update on the department’s investigation and announced the charges during a Tuesday news conference.

What happened in the Alabama boat brawl?

The situation began Saturday when a pontoon boat blocked a city-operated riverboat called Harriott II from docking in its designated space along the city’s riverfront, Albert said. The Harriott II had 227 passengers aboard for a tour, the Associated Press reported. 

The riverboat captain tried to contact the pontoon boat owner by loudspeaker, and people on the other boat responded with "obscene gestures, curse words and taunting," the police chief said. 

RELATED: Brawl at Montgomery, Alabama riverfront dock caught on video

The Harriott, a riverboat, remains docked on August 8, 2023, on the Alabama riverfront in downtown Montgomery, Alabama. Three people have now been charged in the large fight on floating dock Saturday that was captured on video by numerous spectators.

The riverboat co-captain took another vessel to shore to attempt to move the pontoon boat and "was attacked by several members of the private boat." Albert said several people from the riverboat came to the co-captain’s defense, "engaging in what we all have seen since on social media."

Videos posted after the fact showed multiple points of view of the large melee.

RELATED: Massive brawl at Montgomery, Alabama riverfront dock caught on video

A white man shoved and punched the Black crew member, according to one video taken by a riverboat passenger and published by WSFA. The conflict escalated when several white people joined in on attacking the Black crew member. 

"The co-captain was doing his job. He was simply trying to move the boat just enough so the cruise ship could park safely, but it quickly escalated," Albert said.

A separate video showed several Black passengers then confronted the pontoon boat group after the riverboat docked, sparking another brawl that was largely split along racial lines.

Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed speaks to the press regarding the brawl that occurred Saturday on the riverfront on August 8, 2023 in Montgomery, Alabama. Arrest warrants have been issued by authorities following an altercation among several individuals

Authorities said 13 people were detained and taken to police headquarters for questioning following the incident, and they were later allowed to leave. 

Albert said police are also looking to speak with a 42-year-old Black man allegedly shown in social media videos wielding a folding chair. 

The brawl sparked dozens of internet memes and videos with some joking that the chair should be put in a local museum.

Who is facing charges?

After the detainees were allowed to leave on Saturday, authorities announced later that some charges had been handed out.

As of August 13, five people are now facing charges: 

• A 48-year-old man, with two counts of misdemeanor assault
• Two men in their 20s, with misdemeanor assault
• A 21-year-old woman, with misdemeanor assault
• A 42-year-old man, with disorderly conduct 

Who are the victims?

Police identified the victims in the attack as Damien Pickett, the Black co-captain of the riverboat, and a 16-year-old white male who had transported Pickett to the dock in a small boat.

Police didn’t elaborate on how seriously anyone had been injured. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. This story was reported from Washington, D.C. 

Watch CBS News

More arrest warrants could be issued after shocking video shows Montgomery, Alabama, riverfront brawl

By Jericka Duncan , Analisa Novak

Updated on: August 8, 2023 / 3:35 PM EDT / CBS News

Four arrest warrants have been issued in connection with a riverfront brawl in Alabama, with the potential for more to be issued pending a comprehensive review, according to Maj. Saba Coleman of the Montgomery Police Department. 

Shocking video captured the tumultuous scene that unfolded Saturday as what appeared to be a simple disagreement escalated into a violent clash in Montgomery. The incident, which unfolded at the Harriott II Riverboat docking area, involved a group of White people pummeling a Black riverboat worker, an exchange that sparked a massive fight. The incident has since  gone viral  and ignited discussions about race.

The suspects have been identified as Richard Roberts, a White male, 48, with two warrants pending; Allen Todd, a White male, 23, with one warrant pending; and Zachery Shipman, a White male, 25, with one warrant pending. One suspect has turned himself into the police, and the two others "are expected to follow," said Montgomery Police Chief Darryl J. Albert during a Tuesday afternoon news conference. 

He identified the victims in the case as co-captain Dameion Pickett and a 16-year-old juvenile, who both were struck by people from the private boat.

In a series of videos, Christa Owens recorded the tense moments that transpired when a disagreement began over docking space.

Owens, who was aboard the Harriott II Riverboat, said the boat had just completed a dinner cruise and was attempting to dock, only to find a small pontoon boat occupying the designated spot.  

"There were a few guys and a couple of women that were getting off of the boat and seemingly ignoring the captain's request to move," she said. 

A riverboat crew member stepped in and managed to move the pontoon boat several feet, clearing the way for the riverboat to dock, but was then confronted, which quickly led to a physical altercation between the riverboat worker and an irate, shirtless man.  

Owens said the crew member was simply trying to maintain order. 

"Our crewman was trying to explain over and over and over again, you know, we asked you to move so we can fit," she said. 

As the tension escalated, a group of pontoon boat passengers confronted the riverboat crew member, ultimately leading to a violent fight. 

"It felt a little tense, but then you saw punches and our crewman who is just trying to do his job is getting punched by these guys who are very angry," Owens said.  

Amid the chaos, a separate video showed other riverboat passengers rushing to the scene, some even swimming, in an attempt to assist the outnumbered crew member. At one point, a man   is seen picking up a white chair and hitting multiple people with it, including a woman. Law enforcement eventually intervened to stop the altercation and detain several individuals. 

Police said Tuesday they have identified the man with the chair as Reggie Green, 42, and asked him to contact them.

Mayor Steven Reed of Montgomery said in a statement that police swiftly apprehended "multiple reckless individuals involved in attacking a man who was carrying out his job." 

"This was an unfortunate incident which never should have occurred. As our police department investigates these intolerable actions, we should not become desensitized to violence of any kind in our community. Those who choose violence will be held accountable by our criminal justice system," Reed said.

Jericka Duncan is a national correspondent and the anchor for Sunday's edition of the "CBS Weekend News." Duncan is an Emmy-nominated journalist who has received several awards for her reporting, including two National Edward R. Murrow Awards and honors from the Associated Press and the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, which named her Journalist of the Year in 2012.

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Montgomery Riverfront Park brawl: What we know today after 4 charged in videoed fight

• Updated: Aug. 10, 2023, 4:19 p.m.
• | Published: Aug. 07, 2023, 6:00 a.m.

• Jeremy Gray | [email protected]
• Lawrence Specker | [email protected]
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A Saturday night brawl at Montgomery’s riverfront captured in multiple videos was national news Sunday but many questions still surround the incident.

On Tuesday, police said three people had been charged in connection to the incident: Richard Roberts, 48, two counts of third-degree assault; Allen Todd, 23, one count of third-degree assault, and Zachary Shipman, 25, one count of third-degree assault. All charges are misdemeanors.

Here is full coverage of the case

Roberts was in custody on Tuesday; Todd and Shipman surrendered on Wednesday .

A fourth man - 42-year-old Reggie Gray - is sought for questioning. The chief described him as the man seen on video “wielding” a folding chair and hitting a woman over the head with that chair.

On Thursday, police said Mary Todd, 21, surrendered to authorities on a third-degree assault charge . She is being held in Montgomery’s Municipal Jail.

The two victims told police the group of white men who attacked them were drunk and yelled racist slurs.

Here’s what we know today:

How did this all begin?

Montgomery police said they were called at about 7 p.m. Saturday to the 200 block of Coosa Street, the area of Montgomery Riverfront Park, on a disturbance.

“At the scene, they located a large group of subjects engaged in a physical altercation. Several subjects have been detained and any charges are pending,” a police statement late Saturday night read.

Multiple videos posted to social media suggest the brawl started when a pontoon boat stopped at the riverf ront, preventing a riverboat from docking there.

Witnesses said a riverboat worker was attacked by people onboard the pontoon boat.

A Black versus White brawl took place at Montgomery Alabama, racial tension erupted when a black securiry guard was attacked by a group of white men. [TSHEGO] pic.twitter.com/EY7QzM6Tgx — TSHEGO (@TSHEGOMEDIA2021) August 7, 2023

What do the videos show?

A video clip shared by Josh Moon , a reporter for the Alabama Political Reporter, shows the scuffle beginning as a Black man who appears to be in a docks worker uniform talks to a white man.

Another white man -- shirtless -- strikes or shoves the Black man.

The incident appeared to unfold largely along racial lines.

The dock worker and the man who struck him engaged in a shoving match before the first white man placed a hand on the Black man in an apparent effort to separate the two.

Two more shirtless white men charged in, one tackling the Black man to the dock and the other piling on, rapidly joined by a fourth shirtless white man, one of whom shoved away another white man who seemed to try to intervene.

Two white women also were there, though it wasn’t clear whether they were supporting the four-on-one fight then in progress or trying to intervene.

A large and vocal audience, consisting of people on the riverboat from which the first video was shot, gathered, as did a crowd overlooking from the dock.

In this screencapture of a video, provided by The Associated Press, Anwar Price (wearing a blue shirt with a yellow Nike logo) attempts to separate people involved in the riverfront brawl in Montgomery, Alabama, on Saturday, Aug. 5. Price was among the people who attempted to break up the violence.

In the first video, the fight begins to break up as a Black bystander joins in. Another jumps off the riverboat, swimming to join in.

The first Black man, identifiable by his black shorts and white shirt, is physically confronted by one of the women.

A second video , taken moments later, shows a group of Black men running off the riverboat.

They converge on a pontoon boat that apparently carried some of the parties involved in the incident.

Within seconds fighting erupts again, between two white men and white woman who were on the pontoon boat, another white man and white woman who appeared to be trying to get to it, and more than a dozen Black men and women.

Police officers or uniformed security guards can then be seen trying to break things up.

The brawling continued for several moments before tapering off. At that point officers began cuffing participants, Black and white.

Who was involved?

The person seen swimming is a 16-year-old identified only as Aaren, a statement from publicist Makina Lashea read.

“In the face of adversity, Aaren selflessly came to the rescue of a fellow colleague, showcasing courage beyond his years,” the statement from Lashea read.

“Aaren’s unwavering commitment brings immense pride to his parents, leaving him feeling grateful and touched by the strong support of the community. With his sights set on the future, he is eagerly preparing for a successful upcoming school year.”

Chase Shipman, the owner of Vasser’s Mini-Mart in Selma, posted on social media that he was there and “tried to stop it and realized that I could not, so I tried to get away,” The Selma Times-Journal reported .

“I have a business to run and represent and no charges were filed against me because I was not involved,” he wrote, according to that report.

The Times-Journal reported that some commenters disputed his account.

A 67-year-old man on Monday “The Think Tank” with Chris Coleman on V 99.5 in Birmingham he was onboard the riverboat as part of a class reunion from Robert C. Hatch High School in Uniontown.

The man, who did not give his name, said the incident “ made me proud of Black people ... that privilege thing is over with.”

Screengrab from Montgomery riverfront brawl.

“There’s no greater love than a man who gives his life for another man,” he told Coleman. “Everybody out there was willing to give their life for that man. It was no joke.”

Anwar Price, a 42-year-old Montgomery resident, was with his 14-year-old daughter, watching a back-to-school event along the Montgomery riverside, when he saw the melee develop and then explode.

Price said he never felt endangered during the 20 minutes he spent among the flying fists and swinging chairs.

“There was no harm done to me,” he said. “Once I got in there, in the middle of everything, they saw I wasn’t trying to bring that type of energy.”

“A lot of people are trying to promote this as about racism, and I don’t really think this was a racism thing ,” said Price, who is Black.

“Honestly, I think this was just a matter of doing the right thing versus doing the wrong thing,” Price said. “It was because of a series of bad choices.”

What happens next?

“Justice will be served. This was an unfortunate incident which never should have occurred,” Mayor Steven Reed said on Sunday.

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“But as in regards to public safety here in Montgomery, it’s always at the forefront of our mind and we appreciate everything that the community has done to help us in this situation as they do with incidents each and every day.”

A reporter asked Reed if he believes the incident was racially motivated.

“We can’t confirm or deny it at this time,” Reed said. “We’re investigating all angles of this and we’re talking to people who were there as we speak.”

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Man accuses riverboat co-captain of assault during Alabama riverfront brawl

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A Black riverboat co-captain at the center of an Alabama riverfront brawl that drew national attention has been accused of misdemeanor assault in the melee by one of the white boaters charged in the fight.

Court records show one of the white men accused of assaulting the co-captain during the August brawl filed a complaint last month saying the co-captain hit him first during the chaotic melee. The co-captain faces a charge of misdemeanor assault, according to court records.

"I was not trying to fight," the man wrote in a statement. The complaint was filed Oct. 26 ahead of the man's Nov. 16 trial on a misdemeanor assault charge of hitting and kicking the riverboat co-captain.

The August riverfront melee in Montgomery drew national attention after bystanders filmed white boaters hitting a Black riverboat co-captain and others rushing to his defense. Video of the fight was shared widely online, sparking countless memes and parodies.

Montgomery police said the brawl began when the white boaters refused to move their pontoon boat so the city-owned Harriott II riverboat could dock in its designated space. The boat's co-captain said he was attacked after moving the pontoon boat a few feet to make way for the riverboat.

Five other people were previously charged in the brawl. Two white boaters previously pleaded guilty to charges of misdemeanor assault or harassment. Three other people, including a Black man who was filmed swinging a folding chair, have upcoming court dates.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mayor vows justice after massive brawl breaks out on Alabama riverfront

Multiple video clips of a brawl on the riverfront in Montgomery, Alabama, went viral on social media Sunday night, and the mayor reacted with a vow that justice would prevail.

Montgomery Mayor Steven L. Reed said in a statement Sunday that several people involved in the fighting Saturday evening have been detained.

"Justice will be served," he said.

NBC affiliate WSFA of Montgomery reported that four arrest warrants have been issued in connection with the altercation.

It appears to show brawling that split combatants along racial lines. The fighting appeared to follow a riverboat's attempt to dock where a pontoon boat was moored.

A man who was apparently from the riverboat walked to the pontoon and exchanged words with someone, precipitating an all-out brawl between people associated with each of the watercraft.

Reed indicated that the man from the riverboat was attacked and that those who committed violence against him would face the justice system.

"The Montgomery Police Department acted swiftly to detain several reckless individuals for attacking a man who was doing his job," he said.

Police told WSFA that the fight was reported at 7 p.m. Saturday.

The city's Riverfront along the Alabama River is a summertime draw that features the riverboat, an amphitheater, a stadium and a park, among other attractions.

Dennis Romero is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.

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Whoopi Goldberg returns to The View with Montgomery brawl folding chair necklace

"The truth of the matter is it didn't go south because there were no guns, so let's not do that again," the moderator said of the August melee in Alabama.

Jessica is a staff writer at Entertainment Weekly, where she covers TV, movies, and pop culture. Her work has appeared in Bustle, NYLON, Cosmopolitan, InStyle, and more. She lives in California with her dog.

Whoopi Goldberg paid homage to "folding chair man" Reggie Ray, largely considered the hero of a viral riverfront brawl, upon her return to Monday's episode of The View following a bout with COVID-19.

The moderator returned to the table with Sunny Hostin , Sara Haines , Ana Navarro , and Alyssa Farah Griffin , where she addressed the August melee in Montgomery, Ala. that saw a rowdy group of white boaters attack a Black dock worker named Dameion Pickett when he tried to get them to move their pontoon so he could dock a city riverboat. For her return, Goldberg donned a silver folding chair necklace and offered a stern observation on gun control.

"I have to lead this off by saying we do not condone violence on this show," Goldberg began. "But there was a story that happened last month in Montgomery, Ala. where a riverboat captain [with] 227 passengers was trying to dock his boat in the spot he's supposed to be in, so the co-captain, who happened to be Black, went to confront this pontoon boat that was in the way. So a fight ensued and something happened that we have not seen."

Goldberg was making reference to the group of people, predominantly Black, who joined in in defense of the co-captain, including a fellow riverboat employee who jumped into the water and swam to the dock to help break up the fight. A large brawl broke out soon after, with police detaining 13 people. "Black people came out of nowhere," Goldberg quipped. "We dropped out of the sky. It was crazy."

"The memes were off the hook. I am wearing a folding chair," Goldberg added, holding up her necklace.

Though some folks have called the folding chair a "lethal weapon," Hostin noted that she'd "rather have the folding chair than a gun," adding, "That's why no one died during this brawl." Plus, she noted, Ray was the only one who wasn't charged with assault but disorderly conduct, as his actions were considered defense of himself and others. Four of the white boaters have since been hit with misdemeanor assault charges and have pleaded not guilty.

The moderators shared some memes of the folding chair after, then Goldberg offered the following sentiment: "What we all take away from this is, if we don't want to be hit, we do not hit other people. When somebody is doing their job, let them do their job. We're making light of this," she added, "but the truth of the matter is it didn't go south because there were no guns. So let's not do that again."

Goldberg previously missed the show's season 27 premiere after she contracted COVID-19. "She's in really good spirits though, I've been texting back and forth with her," Hostin said during the episode. Goldberg previously came down with COVID in January 2022 and ended up missing several episodes in November .

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