Daniel Penny has been vindicated. So has America.
The jury’s decision to declare the 26-year-old innocent in the case of Jordan Neely’s death signifies a rejection of a justice system that often portrays white individuals as inherently malicious while depicting black individuals as eternal victims.
Yet, there is still a substantial distance to cover. Following the announcement of the verdict on Monday, Neely’s father exploded in the Manhattan courtroom and had to be escorted out.
‘Racist f***ing country,’ one Neely supporter yelled.
Another, to Penny: ‘You’re a racist f**king c***.’
Black Lives Matter leader Hawk Newsome, who claims to be Neely’s ‘uncle’, clearly threatened Penny.
Expressing his anger, he muttered, “Small world, buddy.” Later, during a press briefing, Newsome escalated the situation by stating, “We require black vigilantes… individuals are eager to rise and strangle us and end our lives… Why don’t we respond in kind when they endeavor to subjugate us?”
He should have been arrested on the spot.
In finding Daniel Penny (pictured) not guilty in the death of Jordan Neely, the jury has rejected a racialized criminal justice system that sees white people as inherently evil and black people as perpetual victims.
Black Lives Matter leader Hawk Newsome (pictured) clearly threatened Penny. ‘Small f***ing world, buddy,’ he said. He should have been arrested on the spot.
Meanwhile, protestors chanted ‘No justice, no peace’ and ‘f*** the police’ — though the police had literally nothing to do with Neely’s death. The very lack of police in the subway system caused Penny to intervene and take Neely down.
There was sobbing and wailing and rending of garments, with one person outside the courtroom declaring: ‘That is the sound of black pain.’
Please. This has to stop. Jordan Neely was a violent, mentally ill homeless man who was on an internal list of New York City’s ‘Top 50’ most critical cases.
Neely was once arrested — one of his 44 arrests — for attempting to abduct a 7-year-old girl in broad daylight.
In 2021, he randomly punched a 67-year-old woman in the face, breaking her nose and orbital bone. A judge released Neely from Rikers in a plea deal that sent him to inpatient treatment but, 13 days into his 15-month sentence, Neely simply walked out, never to return.
If only the criminal justice system had been as dogged with Neely as with Daniel Penny.
In 2010, Neely reportedly threatened to murder his own grandfather. And in that subway car last year, he said that he was going to kill someone and was ready to go back to prison. Penny and his fellow passengers had every reason to believe Neely.
Even New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams, a former cop, suggested Penny should never have been charged.
‘Those passengers were afraid,’ Adams said last week. ‘I’ve been on the subway system. I know what it is as a police officer to wrestle or fight with someone… You have someone [Penny] on that subway who was responding, doing what we should have done as a city.’
Yet Neely’s family members, who had all but abandoned him, are now playing victim. Last week, as the jury deliberated, Neely’s father Andre Zachary filed a civil suit against Penny.
The system, Zachary said after the verdict, is ‘rigged’. It sure is, but not the way Zachary claims.
Let’s get real: If Penny had been a black man, or Neely white, this case would never have been brought to trial. Daniel Penny wouldn’t have lost over a year of his life to this politically, racially motivated case.
It was so paper-thin that even prosecutors said on Friday – in what seemed to be a desperate attempt to sway the jury into delivering a favorable verdict – that there was a chance Penny might not even serve jail time if found guilty. So spare us the racial justice canard.
‘My son didn’t have to go through this,’ Neely’s father said Monday.
He sure didn’t. If only Neely had a father and family that would have done something.
Instead, Neely was left to flagrantly threaten a subway car of passengers last May, most of whom were daily riders and had never been so terrified.
Meanwhile, protestors chanted ‘No justice, no peace’ and ‘f*** the police’ – though the police had literally nothing to do with Neely’s death. The very lack of police in the subway system caused Penny to intervene and take Neely down.
Neely’s family members, who had all but abandoned him, are now playing victim. Last week, as the jury deliberated, Neely’s father Andre Zachary (pictured) filed a civil suit against Penny.Â
Neely was left by his family to flagrantly threaten a subway car of passengers last May, most of whom were daily riders and had never been so terrified.Â
Caedryn Schrunk, senior brand manager at Nike, in her court testimony: ‘I was scared that I was going to die in that moment.’
Ivette Rosario, 19, said that she thought she might ‘pass out’ from fear.
The defense team did an expert job in medically proving that Penny’s chokehold did not cause Neely’s death. In fact, police bodycam video shown in court confirmed that Neely still had a pulse when first responders arrived.
It’s heartening, really, to see this jury — despite hearing the racially-charged chants of outside protesters — deliver a fair verdict.
‘It’s a great day for our city and our nation,’ said Brooklyn council member Inna Vernikov. ‘We all feel the tide turning now. Today the jury decided that the woke mob is no longer the arbiter of right and wrong.’
Yes, yes, yes — a million times yes.
Wokery is done. The pendulum of sanity is swinging rightward, as the election of Trump and the rejection of outré progressivism augurs.
House Speaker Mike Johnson called Marine veteran Penny a hero who ‘protected the lives of people on that train. We used to celebrate bravery like this in America, but the left continues their crusade to protect criminals and prosecute heroes.’
Exactly right.
New York City councilman Joe Borelli called for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg— whose only other major case this year was the politically-motivated Trump hush-money trial — to go.
‘The verdict in this case underscores nothing other than the perverse sense of justice held by Alvin Bragg,’ Borelli said. ‘Every New Yorker is fearful on the subway and had no problem understanding the context of Daniel Penny’s actions. The district attorney should resign in shame.’
Let me assure my fellow New Yorkers: Alvin Bragg won’t resign, because he has no shame. Governor Kathy Hochul should fire him.
Not since Al Sharpton has one figure done so much to wreck race relations in New York, a city notable the world over as a true melting pot. Nowhere else do so many different people get along so easily.
But Bragg and his ilk are doing their best to divide us.
After all, Bragg, whose soft-on-crime policies are destroying New York, refused to bring charges against the other man who helped restrain Neely. Could it be because that man is black?
It’s heartening, really, to see this jury, despite hearing the racially-charged chants of outside protesters, deliver a fair verdict. (Pictured: A person protesting the not guilty verdict being arrested outside the Manhattan court.)
Anyone with an iota of common sense knows exactly why Penny was tried and charged. Penny should sue the City of New York, because this isn’t over for him.
He was just openly threatened in a court of law. Neely’s father is now looking for a hefty payday. And Penny and his family will be looking over their shoulders for the foreseeable future.
Indeed, his vindication comes at great personal cost, not just to him but to every American.
Who in their right mind would ever risk standing up for fellow innocents again, only to be branded a racist, face criminal charges, costly legal battles and potential prison time?
Daniel Penny is a hero. It’s up to decent people everywhere to cheer him as such — and make it beyond clear that if anything happens to him, there will be all hell to pay.
