Lawyer for White Montgomery Riverboat Brawl Suspect Hopes Clients Get Fair Treatment

After five people charged for the infamous Montgomery Riverboat Brawl entered not guilty pleas last week, a lawyer for one of the white suspects is speaking up and promoting fairness ahead of their trial.

Following an arraignment hearing on Friday for Richard Roberts, one of the white suspects, his attorney Richard White said given the national attention the case has garnered, he hopes his client can still receive a fair trial.

“That’s a scary slope, in my opinion, has no business in a courtroom of law and a criminal matter, really any matter,” White told WSFA. “But as a criminal defense lawyer, former prosecutor, it doesn’t. The media shouldn’t dictate outcomes or pressure any agency to decide guilt that should be done.”

Five people were charged following a fight on Aug. 5 that initially began after a group of white boaters refused to move their pontoon boat from a private docking area that had been reserved for the city-owned Harriott II Riverboat, as reported by the Associated Press.

A Black riverboat co-captain took a smaller boat to the dock to move their boat himself so that the riverboat could dock when four white boaters began hitting and shoving the captain. Several people rushed to get involved in the fight, which turned into an all-out brawl as people began helping both parties.

Spectators filmed the incident and it blew up on social media, garnering millions of views across various platforms. The videos led to the creation of several memes, jokes, reenactments, and even merchandise as people chose sides or picked their favorite “character.”

“I respect the city and the job they have to do,” White told WFSA. “I hope you know, we’re trying to get all the evidence, all the video cameras from down there, and I hope all that will be turned over.”

Montgomery Police Chief Darryl Albert told reporters in August that he did not believe the fight was influenced by race. MPD spoke with state and federal authorities who did not see enough information to call the incident a hate crime.

The initial four white boaters, Mary Todd, Zachary Shipman, Allen Todd, and Roberts, were all charged with assault. A Black man who later joined the fight and began hitting people with a folding chair, Reggie Ray, has been charged with disorderly conduct.

All five suspects have pleaded not guilty. Their trial date is set for Sept. 26.