Source: Ray Tan / Getty
The Montgomery brawl is back in the news, and it’s not because of memes, gifs and trap music remixes.
The co-captain of the Harriott II, Dameion Pickett, was at the center of the viral fight that spawned the aforementioned content. He was the one attacked by a group of white folks who were “allegedly” hurling racist slurs and threatening to kill him for simply moving their lil’ punk a** boat away from the dock so that a big dog boat could disembark.
Well, despite all the “stand your ground” and “self-defense” rhetoric that many like to champion, Alabama (still) appears to be a place where a Black man doesn’t get to access those sacred American privileges.
According to WAKA, Pickett, the victim, has now been charged with third-degree assault at the behest of Zachary Shipman, who is listed as the complainant in the case. Shipman is one of the four cantankerous Caucasians who were criminally charged for the same crime immediately following the brawl including 48-year-old Richard Roberts, 23-year-old Allen Todd and 21-year-old Mary Todd. Pickett is now the second Black person charged in the incident alongside the celebrated folding chair champion of the world, Reggie Ray.
Last month, Pickett sat in court and watched Roberts plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges. AL.com reports that during the trial, Roberts tried to apologize to the man whom he and his mob of non-melanated miscreants initiated violence saying:
“I think under different circumstances we could be friends,” Roberts told Pickett. “You might not think so.”
“I know you were doing your job,” Roberts added.
As the old saying goes, “With friends like these, who needs enemies?” There is little to no information available that explains why Pickett is being charged when he was the one defending himself, but it’s just as easy to chalk it up to, “Alabama gonna Alabama.”
We’ll provide updates as new details are released to the public.
