By

Khaleda Rahman is Newsweek's National Correspondent based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on education and national news. Khaleda joined Newsweek in 2019 and had previously worked at the MailOnline in London, New York and Sydney. She is a graduate of University College London. Languages: English. You can get in touch with Khaleda by emailing

Khaleda Rahman

news article Listen

Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.

Read original

🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.

✖

A video reenacting a riverfront brawl in Alabama that attracted nationwide attention has gone viral on social media.

Police in Montgomery said on Monday that arrest warrants had been issued in connection with the Saturday evening brawl after a video showed a group of white people attacking a Black worker.

The brawl appeared to begin after a Black worker tried to get a pontoon boat moved because it was blocking a riverboat from docking.

Police in Montgomery said arrest warrants have been issued after a video showed a group of white people attacking a Black worker. Police in Montgomery said arrest warrants have been issued after a video showed a group of white people attacking a Black worker. X

A shirtless white man shoved and struck the Black man, according to the video captured by a riverboat passenger. Things escalated when several more white people joined in, tackling the Black man to the ground and attacking him.

A second video shows several Black people from the riverboat confronting people on the pontoon boat who were involved in the initial brawl. Another fight then broke out, mostly split along racial lines.

On Monday, a video showing a group reenacting the brawl near a pool was posted on X, formerly Twitter.

"This is fine theater right here. Give everybody an independent spirit award or something," Naima Cochrane wrote in the post alongside the clip, which has garnered more than 10 million views. Cochrane has been contacted for comment via direct message.

The reenactment features several details from the original, with one person even seen swimming across the pool to join in the fight—a reference to the teenager who was dubbed "Black Aquaman" after swimming towards the riverfront to the Black worker's aid.

The video was met with jokes and praise.

"This only happened because all these people are friends who love and respect each other," author Patrick S. Tomlinson wrote in a post on the platform.

"They're making an absolute mockery of the racism, entitlement, and small-mindedness that caused the fight they're reenacting. We really can all just get along, as these friends prove."

Bakari Sellers, an attorney and former South Carolina state representative, wrote: "This is perfection. Can the Oscar's take this as a short film."

Another person wrote: "I love how this divisive event is bringing people together. What a gift in these polarizing times."

In a statement to Newsweek on Monday, Major Saba Coleman of the Montgomery Police Department said there are currently four active warrants.

"There's a possibility more will follow after the review of additional video," Coleman said.

Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed said police will hold a briefing to provide an update on the situation at 1 p.m. on Tuesday.

"While there is a lot of activity and interest in this, we know that we'll come through this together as a community collectively as we have other situations," Reed said on Monday, according to al.com.

In a statement on Sunday, Reed said that Montgomery police had "acted swiftly to detain several reckless individuals for attacking a man who was doing his job."

He added: "This was an unfortunate incident which never should have occurred. As our police department investigates these intolerable actions, we should not become desensitized to violence of any kind in our community. Those who choose violence will be held accountable by our criminal justice system."

Request Reprint & Licensing Submit Correction View Editorial & AI Guidelines