August 12th 2023.
Reggie Ray, the 42-year-old Black man famous for wielding a folding chair in the August 5 Montgomery, Alabama, riverfront brawl, has been arrested. On the evening of August 11, Ray voluntarily surrendered to the Montgomery Police Department (MPD). He is now being held in custody in the Montgomery Municipal Jail and is charged with disorderly conduct.
According to WSFA 12, Ray is the first person to be charged--who was not a white attacker from the pontoon boat--in the investigation. The other four individuals charged with misdemeanors were people from the private pontoon boat that blocked the dock that the Harriott II cruise ship needed to dock.
The fight, which ensued after the owners of the pontoon boat attacked a Black dock worker, was caught on camera. The videos allowed authorities to identify Ray. MPD's deposition, in fact, states that "Via body cam video footage seen, Ray can be seen striking a white male wearing gray shorts and no shirt with the white chair several times."
After detaining him, Montgomery police ran a background check on Ray. Since the background check came up clean, Ray was released for the time being, pending further investigation.
The same day of Ray's arrest, Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed released a statement to address the public about the fight. He said, “This is a fluid investigation,” and the FBI has not classified these attacks as a hate crime, but the investigation is ongoing.”
Reed shared his thoughts on the matter not only from his position as the mayor but also from the perspective of a Black man. He said, “As a former judge and as an elected official, I will trust this process and the integrity of our justice system. 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 of a crime fueled by hate, and this kind of violence cannot go unchecked.”
He concluded his statement by emphasizing the importance of justice. Reed said, “It is a threat to the durability of our democracy, and we are grateful to our law enforcement professionals, partner organizations and the greater community for helping us ensure justice will prevail.”
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