An online fundraiser for a Black man who faced charges for his role in the Montgomery Riverfront brawl was less than $4,000 shy of its $250,000 goal on Sunday morning.
The GoFundMe account launched by prominent civil rights attorney Lee Merritt had garnered $246,025 by 11 a.m. Sunday. Merritt created the fund for Reggie Ray, who was seen on the viral video thumping one of the men accused of attacking a worker from the Harriott II, a cruise vessel, at Montgomery’s Riverfront Park.
Ray, 42, surrendered to police on Friday for a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct. His actions in the melee have made him and the chair heroes online, with several memes circulating for a week after Saturday’s brawl.
One man even tattooed a drawing of a folding chair on his body in honor of the event. But Ray could serve three months behind bars and a $500 fine if convicted.
Harriott II co-captain Dameion Pickett, 43, a Black man, and a 16-year-old white young man, were attacked by white occupants of a pontoon boat who refused to move so the bigger vessel could pass.
Ray was among the witnesses who came to Pickett’s defense. He can be seen on the video striking a shirtless white man in gray shorts with the white chair multiple times.
AL.com reports that an officer grabbed Ray and removed the chair from his hands. The man who he struck was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in the squabble. However, four people from the pontoon boat have been charged.
Ray was detained in the Montgomery Municipal Jail and was released on Saturday morning after posting bail, according to Merritt, who indicated that other people involved may have faced charges.
“As early as this morning each of our clients who faced arrest as a result of their alleged involvement in the incident at the Montgomery Riverfront have been released from jail,” Merritt wrote in an Instagram post on Saturday. “The criminal charges involved amount to no more than misdemeanors if outright dismissal is not warranted.”
Atlanta Black Star has reached out to Merritt.
