Standing with civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Harry Daniels, William McNeil Jr. spoke publicly for the first time since his February 19 arrest.

Attorneys for William McNeil Jr., 22, say he’ll be joined by family and community members for a news conference Wednesday morning.

The case gained national attention after McNeil released cellphone video of his February arrest over the weekend, in which he can be seen being hit in the face by a Jacksonville Sheriff’s officer while seated in the driver’s seat of his car.

A Black man was beaten by a white officer in Jacksonville, Fla., during a traffic stop. The sheriff’s office said that it was reviewing the episode.

At a news conference in Jacksonville, 22-year-old William McNeil Jr. spoke softly as he made a few brief comments with his family and civil rights attorneys by his side.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office alleges William McNeil Jr., 22, was reaching for a knife during the traffic stop before officers used force.

William McNeil Jr., a 22-year-old Black man, was pulled over by Jacksonville officer D. Bowers in February. McNeil used his phone to capture footage of the traffic stop, which went viral this month on social media.