OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Several people have stepped in to assist Marine veteran Daniel Penny in his defense against manslaughter charges in the death of serial criminal Jordan Neely, and none have done more than musician Kid Rock.
Penny restrained Neely, along with two other men, in what appeared to be a rear naked choke hold. But prior to District Attorney Alvin Bragg filing manslaughter charges against him last week, a campaign had already started to assist Penny with legal expenses.
The campaign on GiveSendGo has raised more than $2.1 million and Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, donated $5,000 with the message “Mr. Penny is a hero. Alvin Bragg is a POS. Kid Rock.”
The campaign has vowed to donate all the monies raised to Penny’s legal expenses and any excess would be donated to mental health causes in New York City.
Neely had more than 40 arrests on his record and had pleaded guilty to attempting to kidnap a 7-year-old child.
Bragg filed criminal charges against the white former Marine who held a black man with a history of violence and mental health issues in a chokehold earlier this month after he made threatening actions on a New York subway.
On Friday, 24-year-old Penny turned himself in to authorities for charges connected to Jordan Neely’s death. The decision to charge Penny came from Bragg’s office, according to NBC 4 in New York.
ABC Correspondent CeFaan Kim said on Twitter that Penny will face a charge of Manslaughter in the Second Degree.
On Wednesday, the New York City medical examiner officially confirmed that Neely’s cause of death was attributed to a “chokehold.” The ME categorized the incident as a “homicide,” but further legal proceedings would be required to establish intent or culpability.
Penny’s attorneys released a statement on the death late last week, saying that their client “was involved in a tragic incident on the NYC Subway, which ended in the death of Jordan Neely.”
BREAKING: Daniel Penny is being charged with second-degree involuntary manslaughter
Daniel Penny is the Marine who choked Jordan Neely to death on the NYC subway.
DA Alvin Bragg is charging him with second-degree involuntary manslaughter for the death of Jordan Neely, which… pic.twitter.com/XddPUOCvaF
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) May 12, 2023
The statement, which was released by the law firm Raiser and Kenniff, P.C., added:
We would first like to express, on behalf of Daniel Penny, our condolences to those close to Mr. Neely. Mr. Neely had a documented history of violent and erratic behavior, the apparent result of ongoing and untreated mental illness. When Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and the other passengers, Daniel, with the help of others, acted to protect themselves, until help arrived. Daniel never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death.
For too long, those suffering from mental illness have been treated with indifference. We hope that out of this awful tragedy will come a new commitment by our elected officials to address the mental health crisis on our streets and subways.
I’m stunned that Alvin Bragg is going to charge Daniel Penny in the death of Jordan Neely… said no one with half a brain. A white man killed a black man in New York. There’s no way he wasn’t gonna get charged. If there’s any justice, he’ll be acquitted.
— Carmine Sabia (@CarmineSabia) May 11, 2023
The left is losing the Jordan Neely debate. Their hysterical and sinister overreactions have lost their potency. Conservatives are finally learning not to play along. Bragg might still try to imprison the Good Samaritan, but he’s already lost in the court of public opinion.
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) May 5, 2023
According to freelance journalist Juan Alberto Vazquez and a report from The New York Post, witnesses recounted that on Monday afternoon, Neely engaged in an aggressive rant while in the subway. Witnesses described him as behaving erratically and reportedly heard him shouting that he was unconcerned about going to jail.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams said at a press conference Thursday that “Jordan Neely did not deserve to die.” But some others who were in the subway car during the May 1 incident were grateful that Penny responded to protect them and himself.
“I hope he has a great lawyer, and I’m praying for him,” a 66-year-old woman, who did not want to be identified, told The Post Thursday evening.
“And I pray that he gets treated fairly, I really do. Because after all of this ensued, I went back and made sure that I said, ‘thank you’ to him,” she said.
