Five people charged in Montgomery riverfront brawl plead not guilty

Five people charged in the riverfront brawl in downtown Montgomery that drew national attention have pleaded not guilty to assault and disorderly conduct charges.

Four white boaters, who police said were recorded hitting or shoving a Black riverboat captain in Montgomery, pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor assault charges. A Black man, who police said was recorded swinging a folding chair and hitting people in the subsequent melee, pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges.

Videos of the brawl were widely shared on social media and spawned a multitude of memes, jokes, parodies, reenactments and even T-shirts.

Montgomery Police Chief Darryl Albert told reporters that the brawl began when the owner of a pontoon boat refused to move from a docking spot designated for the city-owned Harriott II riverboat. The riverboat co-captain took a smaller vessel to shore to move the pontoon boat so the Harriott II could dock and let its 200 or so passengers disembark.

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