Reggie Ray GoFundMe Raises Over $250K After Alabama Chair Fighter Arrested

More than $250,000 in donations has been collected to help a man accused of using a folding chair to hit people during a brawl in Montgomery, Alabama.

Reggie Ray, 42, who is Black, turned himself into the Montgomery Police Department on Friday, police said. He is charged with one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct.

Ray's arrest came after police arrested and charged four white boaters with misdemeanor assault in the attack against Dameion Pickett, the Black co-captain of a riverboat, on the waterfront on August 5.

Pickett was attacked by several white people from the pontoon boat, with video showing he was punched and shoved. A 16-year-old deckhand, who is white, was also allegedly struck by the group, police said.

Later, the riverboat's crew and others came to Pickett's defense and confronted the people on the pontoon boat, leading to more fighting breaking out.

Ray was "involuntarily roped into the disorderly conduct initiated by a violent white mob," his attorney, Lee Merritt, said in a statement to ABC News.

"Mr. Ray will continue to participate with the ongoing investigation concerning the same and is committed to be forthcoming about his limited role in the brawl," the statement continued. Merritt has been contacted for further comment via email.

A GoFundMe page was set up over the weekend by Ray's attorney. The fundraiser's total stood at more than $260,000 early on Monday.

"Funds raised here will be used to offset the cost of certain damages incurred by my clients and others involved in responding to the chaos at the riverfront," a post on the page says. "These damages include but are not limited to medical bills, lost wages/earnings, professional services, travel, lodging and expenses."

The initial altercation took place after a pontoon boat docked in a space designated for a city-owned riverboat.

Pickett told police that the captain of the Harriott II riverboat had repeatedly asked the group on the pontoon boat to move from the riverboat's designated docking space via the public announcement system, according to court documents cited by The Associated Press.

The group responded by "giving us the finger and packing up to leave," Pickett wrote in a handwritten statement to authorities. He and a deckhand took a small boat to the shore and moved the pontoon boat "three steps to the right," he wrote.

Two people rushed back, with one cursing and threatening to beat him for touching the boat, Pickett wrote. He said he told them that he was "just doing my job" but was then punched in the face and hit from behind.

"I went to the ground. I think I bit one of them. All I can hear 'Imma kill you and beat you,'" he wrote. He couldn't tell "how long it lasted" and he "grabbed one of them and just held on for dear life," Pickett wrote. The unnamed deckhand's mother, who was on the Harriott, said her son was pinched in the chest when he tried to pull the men off Pickett. She said she heard a racial slur before Pickett was hit.

After the riverboat docked, members of its crew and other bystanders confronted the group on the pontoon boat.

A melee broke out, largely unfolding along racial lines. Videos of it went viral on social media and sparked reenactments and memes. One moment that garnered much attention involved Ray, who was seen appearing to strike a white man and a white woman with a folding chair.

The four white boaters charged in the incident were identified as Allen Todd, 23; Zachery Shipman, 25; Richard Roberts, 48; and Mary Todd, 21. Roberts was charged with two counts of third-degree assault, while the three others face one count each of third-degree assault.

"It would be premature to comment at this time," Darron Hendley, an attorney representing Allen Todd and Shipman, told Newsweek. It was not immediately clear if the others had an attorney to speak on their behalf.

Montgomery Police Chief Darryl Albert said last week that the brawl does not meet the criteria for hate crimes charges.

"At this point, the FBI has not classified these attacks as a hate crime, but the investigation is ongoing," Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed said in a statement to the Montgomery Advertiser.

Reed, who is the city's first Black mayor, said he will trust the investigative process, but that his "perspective as a Black man in Montgomery differs from my perspective as mayor."

He added: "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. 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."

Update 8/15/23, 9:05 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with a response from Darron Hendley, an attorney representing Allen Todd and Zachery Shipman.