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Full Video: Viewer records as Montgomery riverfront brawl begins

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Two men plead guilty in Alabama riverfront brawl; charge against co-captain is dismissed

December 8, 2023 / 6:28 PM EST / AP

Two men pleaded guilty on Friday to harassment charges in connection with an Alabama riverfront brawl  that drew national attention.

The two men, Zachary Shipman and Allen Todd, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges as part of a plea deal, CBS affiliate WAKA reported . The August riverfront melee in Montgomery drew national attention after bystanders filmed white boaters hitting a Black riverboat co-captain, which then made crew members and bystanders rush to his defense. Video of the fight was shared widely online, sparking countless memes and parodies.

A judge on Thursday also dismissed an assault charge filed by one of the White boaters against the riverboat co-captain. The Montgomery Police Department said the co-captain was a victim in the assaults.

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.

The guilty pleas concluded the last of the criminal cases brought against four white boaters in connection with the melee. The two men were ordered to complete an anger management class and perform community service. They will not serve any jail time unless they violate probation terms.

One white boater previously pleaded guilty to a charge of misdemeanor assault and was sentenced to serve 32 days in jail. Another white boater pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment. A Black man, who was filmed swinging a folding chair during the brawl, was charged with disorderly conduct and will go to court next week.

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Witnesses recount brawl at Montgomery riverfront

Witnesses say a large brawl that broke out on an Alabama riverfront Saturday was fueled by alcohol and adrenaline. 

Bystanders said the incident began when a worker tried to clear the dock along the Alabama River so the Harriott II Riverboat could dock. A group of rowdy boaters refused to move their pontoon and attacked the dock worker when he untied the boat to make way for the Harriott II.

“They just didn’t think the rules applied to them. It was so avoidable. This never had to have happened,” a witness, Leslie Mawhorter, 52, who was aboard the Harriott II, said in an interview. Video of the incident shows a group of what appear to be white men running to the boardwalk one by one and attacking the worker, who is Black. 

The man who was initially attacked and the people involved in the fight have not been publicly named. 

“Everything just spiraled from there,” Mawhorter said. “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.” 

A spokesperson for the city Parks & Recreation, which oversees the riverboat attractions, declined to comment. The Montgomery Riverfront is a popular summertime destination with a riverboat, a park, an amphitheater, a stadium and more. 

After the initial attack, several people appeared to rush to the worker’s defense, one of them even swimming from the Harriott II over to the dock to take part in the brawl. Mawhorter said officers turned to the onlookers for help identifying the aggressors. “They were listening to us and to other people telling them who was involved and who needed to be cuffed,” she said.

Montgomery police had multiple people in handcuffs by the end of the melee, which started shortly before 7 p.m., and there were at least three active warrants for people believed to have been involved afterward, according to NBC affiliate WSFA .

Mayor Steven L. Reed said in a statement Sunday: “The Montgomery Police Department acted swiftly to detain several reckless individuals for attacking a man who was doing his job. Warrants are being signed and justice will be served.” 

He reiterated his response at a news conference Monday, calling the fight “an unfortunate incident.” He said police are still investigating. 

Christa Owen, 47, was on the Harriott II with her husband and their daughter when the fight began. She and Mawhorter said they and the other passengers had been waiting several minutes for the group to move their pontoon and allow the Harriott to dock. Owen said the worker who was attacked was initially the only crew member trying to handle the rowdy boaters.

“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 said she decided to record the incident to make sure the “right people” were arrested. Her and Mawhorter’s videos were among many that began circulating on the internet. Many social media users have shared memes and colorful commentary, noting that the combatants were split along racial lines. Many praised the group of Black men for coming to the Black worker’s defense as he battled the group of white men. 

“It was inexcusable behavior,” Owen said, adding that she believes alcohol was a factor. “I can’t imagine anyone just disregarding moving their boat 2 feet so that a three-story dinner cruise boat could park back in that spot.”

CORRECTION (August 8, 2023, 11:12 a.m. ET): An earlier version of this article misstated the day that the incident took place. It was Saturday, not Sunday.

Char Adams is a reporter for NBC BLK.

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]