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A black Alabama man accused of arming himself with a folding chair and using it to attack a white group has posted bond.
Reggie Ray, 42, faces disorderly conduct charges for his alleged involvement in the Aug. 5 brawl at Montgomery’s Riverfront Park in Alabama. He surrendered to police on Friday but has since been released from jail.
‘M. Reggie Ray is out,’ his attorney, civil rights attorney Lee Merritt, said in an update.
‘He’s in a good mood. He received a speeding ticket on his way home, but was relieved to find the community had been so strong for him and others.
Reggie Ray, 42, has been charged with disorderly conduct following the viral brawl
He is believed to have been seen smashing another man over the head with a chair as he tried to escape
A now-viral video captured the moment black cruise staff and white pleasure craft owners clashed over a pontoon boat blocking the dock where a riverboat was trying to moor.
Officials had said they were looking to speak to Ray, who is believed to be the black man seen hitting people with a folding chair.
Over $300,000 has been raised for his defense through a fundraising page.
Merritt says he is on the legal team of a number of people who were arrested on charges related to the incident at the wharf and have all since been released.
“As of early this morning, each of our clients who were arrested for their alleged involvement in the incident at the Montgomery Riverfront have been released from jail,” Merritt said.
“The criminal charges at issue amount to nothing more than misdemeanors if outright dismissal is not warranted.”
He said teams are working to ensure the group is supported and includes a link to a GoFundMe page.
Zachery Shipman and his girlfriend Mary Todd were pictured for the first time after being released from prison on Saturday.
Both men had turned themselves in to police after the images circulated online.
Shipman is one of four men charged with assault, and his girlfriend Mary Todd has been charged with assaulting a black riverboat crew co-captain.
The two were released and were seen for the first time since leaving a petrol station around 9am on Saturday morning in exclusive footage from DailyMail.com.
When approached with questions, Shipman said “I can’t speak at all” – while Todd quickly got into the car without saying a word.
Todd and Shipman are charged with assault with Richard Roberts, 48 - who is accused of punching Daniel Warren, 16, by the boy’s mother – in the incident, with cops saying the investigation is still ongoing in progress.
The same man is later seen smashing a woman’s head with a chair as she sits on the ground
The shocking brawl was filmed from multiple angles and posted on social media
The fight started after Damien Pickett, the black sailor, moved boats parked in the spot on the quay reserved specifically for river cruising
Police Chief Darryl Albert said on Tuesday that 13 people were arrested at the scene
The incident was also captured in footage from inside the riverboat
Zachary Shipman (far left) was among four white members of the brawl to be arrested and charged over the fight – before Ray became the fifth to be charged on Friday
The boy’s mother, Crystal Warren, says she heard one of the attackers say “f**k this n*****” before getting into a fight with the black deckhand at the center of the shocking incident.
She told police she saw the entire interaction and revealed that she heard one of the white attackers threaten to go get a gun, according to court documents obtained by TMZ.
Police have also charged 23-year-old Allen Todd.
In the video, men are seen gouging out their eyes and punching each other in the head, and several people use folding chairs as weapons – including a man who leaves a knocked woman on the ground after beating her with the seat.
Multiple angles of the savage brawl have emerged after it was shared widely on social media last month.
It seemed to start when riverboat deckhand Damien Pickett, 31, clashed with a member of the White Boat Party after asking them to move.
Pickett threw his hat in the air in anticipation of a fight, before the scene quickly escalated as the couple exchanged blows.
Alongside the couple, police charged Richard Roberts, left, and Allen Todd, right, with assault
Jim Kittrell, the captain of the Harriott II, claimed the attack at Montgomery’s Riverfront Park was racially motivated
Just then, another white man in red shorts tackles Pickett to the ground, before several others join the fray.
As some tried to flee and others jumped into the skirmish, a teenager dived into the water to swim across the river and join the fight.
Mary Todd is believed to be the woman seen in the viral video kicking Damien Pickett after he was shot during the altercation.
Pickett told police Mary punched him in the throat while holding a beer and ‘wouldn’t let it pass’, according to AL.com.
It’s unclear if Allen Todd and Mary Todd are related.