Reggie Ray, the man who wielded a chair during a now-viral brawl at the Montgomery Riverfront in August, is sharing his side of the events.
Earlier this month, Ray pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct. The 42-year-old was then sentenced to a suspended 90 days in jail. This means Ray won’t have to spend that time behind bars. However, he will be serving 50 hours of community service.
At the time, Ray did not share a comment in response to his sentence. But now he’s opening up about it all exclusively with The Shade Room’s Justin Carter on ‘TSR Investigates.’
Stay Connected
Subscribe to updates from The Shade Room
RELATED: Reggie Ray, Man Who Swung Chair In Montgomery Brawl, Avoids Jail Time (Update)
Reggie Ray Opens Up About The Events Leading To Viral Montgomery Brawl
On August 5, Ray was among 227 passengers aboard the Harriott II Riverboat. Footage captured the boat preparing to dock at the Montgomery Riverfront when Black co-captain Richard Roberts asked a group of white men and women to move their smaller pontoon boat.
“Move, b***h. Get out the way,” screamed onlookers from the Harriott II Riverboat.
But that’s when things took a shocking turn, according to Ray.
“Before we could get it out good, they jumped on him,” Ray explained to Carter. “So we was like, ‘Oh man.'”
Footage showed one of the white men pouncing on Roberts and punching him in the face as others from the group joined in.
“All they had to do was go to their boat — it was real simple,” Ray explained. “But they wanted to show they true colors for real.”
The Boat Docking Leads To “All Hands On Deck”
At this point, a 16-year-old Harriott II Riverboat passenger reportedly swam across the river to defend the Riverboat crew. Additionally, Tammy Howard, a former Riverboat Hostess, stepped in, flipping one of the white boaters overboard.
“Me and my crew, couldn’t wait to get out that boat — Yeah, we did what we had to do!” Howard told Carter.
According to Carter, from there, it was “all hands on deck.”
Scroll above to watch as Reggie Ray detailed his decision to jump in with a chair in hand and how he has reacted to the media firestorm that ensued.
