Daniel Penny indicted in Jordan Neely subway death as ex-marines legal fund tops $2m – latest updates

“Cue the most recent hero on the MAGA superstar circuit: Daniel Penny, the previous marine whose golden ticket to infamy was allegedly choking to loss of life 30-year-old Jordan Neely, a Black homeless man with psychological well being points on a New York Metropolis subway. Penny has been charged with second-degree manslaughter. He occurs to be white, and is utilizing self-defense because the excuse for his actions.

Stephen Lyons writes for The Unbiased final month:

A subway passenger fatally choked a homeless road performer on the Manhattan F prepare.

Daniel Penny is going through as much as 15 years in jail over the subway killing of homeless Michael Jackson impersonator Jordan Neely.

On Wednesday, a New York grand jury voted to indict the 24-year-old former US Marine over the loss of life of the 30-year-old who he positioned in a deadly chokehold on a Manhattan subway prepare final month.

The grand jury indictment formally charging Mr Penny with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent murder is predicted to be unsealed at a later court docket date.

If convicted, he may withstand 15 years in state jail on the manslaughter expenses. The criminally negligent murder carries a most sentence of 4 years.

In his upside-down model of the parable, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in contrast the person who fatally choked a homeless New Yorker to the “good Samaritan,” the biblical determine who got here to the help of a person who was stripped, crushed and left for useless on the facet of the street.

In response to witness accounts, Jordan Neely loudly complained of starvation and thirst when he boarded a Manhattan F prepare on 1 Could, stated he didn’t care whether or not he was jailed or killed, and threw his jacket to the bottom earlier than a person recognized as Daniel Penny grabbed him from behind and pinned him to the bottom in a chokehold for a number of minutes.

“We stand with Good Samaritans like Daniel Penny,” Mr DeSantis wrote on Twitter after Mr Penny was formally charged with manslaughter on 12 Could. “Take again the streets for regulation abiding residents,” he wrote.

Republican elected officers and right-leaning media retailers and personalities have equally described Mr Penny as a heroic determine, and lambasted the truth that expenses have been introduced towards him in any respect, rejecting the concept that prosecutors or regulation enforcement ought to even examine.

The Unbiased’s Alex Woodward investigates:

Expert Michael Jackson impersonator died after being held in chokehold by member of the general public on a prepare carriage ground, sparking offended protests and mass outrage.

A authorized fund set as much as assist the 24-year-old former Marine Daniel Penny has topped $2.8m after it emerged that he has been indicted by a grand jury over the loss of life of Jordan Neely.

Whereas many New Yorkers have condemned Mr Penny’s actions and psychological well being advocates have argued towards vigilante-style actions treating mentally ailing folks as if they’re criminals, the previous Marine has additionally acquired an outpouring of assist from right-wing personalities branding him a hero and arguing his actions have been pro-public security.

Now, a authorized fund arrange on the Christian fundraising website GiveSendGo by Mr Penny’s attorneys on the agency Raiser and Kenniff has pulled in over $2.8m in donations to assist cowl his authorized prices, as of 15 June.

“Daniel Penny is, a twenty-four-year-old school pupil and embellished Marine veteran, going through a felony investigation stemming from him defending people on a NYC subway prepare from an assailant who later died. Funds are being raised to pay Mr. Penny’s authorized charges incurred from any felony expenses filed and any future civil lawsuits that will come up, in addition to bills associated to his protection. All contributions are significantly appreciated. Any proceeds collected which exceed these essential to cowl Mr. Penny’s authorized protection will probably be donated to a psychological well being advocacy program in New York Metropolis,” it reads.

Legal professionals from Mills & Edwards representing Jordan Neely’s household, issued a press release, saying “We consider in our felony justice system and consider it labored immediately.

“Daniel Penny’s indictment is the appropriate outcome for the flawed he dedicated. The grand jury’s choice tells our metropolis and our nation that “nobody is above the regulation” regardless of how a lot cash they elevate, it doesn’t matter what affiliations they declare, and it doesn’t matter what distorted tales they inform in interviews. Backside line- in some unspecified time in the future Mr Penny ought to have let go earlier than Jordan died.

“There isn’t any excuse for choking anybody for that lengthy. Any affordable particular person is aware of choking somebody for that lengthy will kill them.Daniel Penny didn’t have the appropriate to be the decide, jury and executioner.

“The struggle shouldn’t be over but it surely took a variety of work to get to this place. The Neely household sends its sincerest thanks particularly to our brave elected officers like AOC and others, each peaceable protester and all who nonetheless consider flawed actions ought to have penalties.

“We are going to proceed to struggle on behalf of Jordan as this course of strikes ahead.”