Black Lives Matter protestors mobilized Monday to jeer at Daniel Penny, who's on trial for the death of Jordan Neely, as his trial kicked off in the fatal 2023 chokehold case.
Dozens of "Justice for Jordan Neely" demonstrators — about 50 of them — rallied outside the Manhattan courthouse prior to Penny's arrival. Wearing "Malcolm X" merch, some held signs that read "End Racist Vigilantism Now!" while others accused the Marine veteran of "White Supremacist Violence." One poster demanded that the jury "Convict Daniel Penny" for "This Modern Lynching." Several anti-police activists called on the city to "#AbolishPolice."
Demonstrators chant "No Justice, No Peace" outside Manhattan Criminal Court, where jury selection begins this morning in the trial against Daniel Penny, who's charged with choking former street performer Jordan Neely to death on the subway last year. pic.twitter.com/5CHrAWaDEr
— PRO_NYC (@protest_nyc) October 21, 2024
"Murderer! Murderer!" one man reportedly shouted into a bullhorn as Penny, who's charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, walked into Manhattan Supreme Court for the first day of jury selection.
BLM of Greater New York co-founder Hawk Newsome declared, "This is a race thing."
NOW: Daniel Penny arrives to NYC court amid protest, "This is a race thing, because if Jordan Neely was white, he would not be dead" Hawk Newsome of Greater BLM NY spoke as group chanted "Justice For Jordan Neely!" pic.twitter.com/fqc7wQTjrW
— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) October 21, 2024
On May 1, 2023, Penny appeared in a cellphone video placing Neely, a homeless black man allegedly acting aggressively on the subway and threatening to kill other commuters, in a chokehold in order to subdue him. Neely later died. The medical examiner ruled that the chokehold, which lasted roughly five to six minutes, caused Neely's death.
The defense says Penny acted to protect his fellow passengers and that there's "overwhelming evidence" proving his actions were justified.
Women and children were trapped with Neely in that crowded train car. Penny then took action to restrain him, whom he perceived as a threat to the public after witnessing Neely yelling in people's faces and charging at them.
"I want to hurt people. I want to go to Rikers. I want to go to prison," one woman, who was with her son strapped in a stroller, said Neely was shouting on the subway.
Court documents say that a high school student, fearing for her life, prayed after hearing Neely holler, "Someone is going to die today." Another woman described Neely's behavior as "sickening" and "satanic," believing she was "going to die" when Neely accosted her. The experience was "absolutely traumatizing," she said of the confrontation. Another rider, who has taken the subway for more than three decades, said nothing had "put fear into me" like Neely had.
Neely had a history of violence including allegations of assault on the New York City subway system. In 2021, he punched a 67-year-old woman, breaking her nose and fracturing an orbital bone. In 2019, he sucker-punched a man at a subway stop—the same place where Neely eventually died after his encounter with Penny.
Two men helped Penny hold Neely down as they waited for law enforcement to arrive. Body-camera footage showed Penny remaining at the scene and cooperating with cops. Neely was still breathing when they let him go, and a New York Police Department officer previously testified that Penny was not informed of Neely's death at the time investigators had interrogated him at the precinct. By then, he had waived his Miranda rights and agreed to speak with detectives.
"I'm not trying to kill the guy," Penny told police during questioning. "I'm just trying to de-escalate the situation."
He added, "I'm just trying to keep him from hurting everyone else. That's what we learned in the Marine Corps. That's what you guys learn today as police officers."
Detectives didn't arrest Penny that day. He wasn't handcuffed until 11 days later, after BLM activists likened Neely to George Floyd.
Neely's family attorney Donte Mills is arguing that Neely's outburst did not warrant Penny's intervention.
"Jordan had the right to take up his own space," Mills said. "He was allowed to be on that train and even to scream. He did not touch anyone. He was not a visitor on that train, in New York, or in this country. Jordan was allowed to exist and Penny ceased his existence solely because Penny believed he was more important than Jordan."
The trial, which is projected to last six weeks, resumes Tuesday with another day of the jury selection process. Prospective jurors are expected to be eventually asked about their own experiences riding the city's subways.
Penny, 25, faces up to 19 years in prison if convicted on both counts.