A massive brawl that erupted in Montgomery, Alabama, and has been trending online over the weekend resulted in several arrests.
The incident occurred on Saturday, Aug. 5 at Riverfront Park, a popular attraction site. It led to viral videos of the physical confrontation on social media and local officials calling for justice. The altercation started over a dock space for the Harriott II Riverboat, a city cruise that offers dinner and live entertainment according to reports.
A video of the incident posted by the Alabama Political Reporter shows a white man attacking a Black man, identified as a dock worker for the cruise. Moments later, a group of more white men join in, and the Black man falls to the ground.
Another Black man, seemingly coming to the defense of the worker, could be seen running down a ramp and soon appears to try to break up the fight. At the 43-second mark, another Black bystander swims to the dock, also seemingly in defense of the victim, before the video stops. In more footage posted by the outlet, another scuffle that included men and women arose between the two groups before police intervened. At one point, one person hit another with a chair.
Local police responded to the scene around 7 p.m., and in addition to the arrests, those taken into custody are expected to be charged, according to WSFA-TV. Law enforcement also is looking through video footage posted online. In a public statement on Sunday, Montgomery mayor Steven Reed said the police “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,” Reed said. “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.”
Black Twitter joined in on the conversation, creating memes and posting clips from the altercation. One person even made a shirt with a photo from the brawl.
