Daniel Penny has been vindicated. America has that too.
By finding the 26-year-old not guilty of Jordan Neely’s death, the jury rejected a racist criminal justice system that views white people as inherently evil and black people as perpetual victims.
But we still have a long way to go. After the verdict was announced Monday, Neely’s father erupted in the Manhattan courtroom and had to be escorted out.
“Racist fucking country,” one Neely supporter shouted.
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.
“Small fucking world, buddy,” he said. Later, at a press conference, Newsome continued: “We need some black vigilantes… people want to jump up and strangle us and kill us… Will we do the same if they try to oppress us?”
He should have been arrested on the spot.
By finding Daniel Penny (pictured) not guilty of Jordan Neely’s death, the jury rejected a racist criminal justice system that views white people as inherently evil and black people as perpetual victims.
Black Lives Matter leader Hawk Newsome (pictured) clearly threatened Penny. “Small fucking world, buddy,” he said. He should have been arrested on the spot.
Meanwhile, protesters chanted “No justice, no peace” and “f*** the police” – even though the police literally had nothing to do with Neely’s death. The very lack Police in the subway system caused Penny to intervene and take Neely down.
There was sobbing and wailing and clothing torn, while one person outside the courtroom declared: “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 the “Top 50” most critical cases in New York City.
Neely was once arrested – one of his 44 arrests – for trying to kidnap a seven-year-old girl in broad daylight.
In 2021, he randomly punched a 67-year-old woman in the face, breaking her nose and eye socket. A judge released Neely from Rikers in a plea deal that sent him to inpatient treatment, but thirteen days into his fifteen-month prison sentence, Neely simply walked away and never returned.
If only the criminal justice system had been as tough on Neely as it was on Daniel Penny.
In 2010, Neely reportedly threatened to kill his own grandfather. And last year on that subway he said 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 Mayor Eric Adams, a former police officer, said Penny should never have been charged.
“Those passengers were scared,” Adams said last week. ‘I’ve been on the subway. I know what it’s like to struggle or fight with someone as a police officer… You have someone [Penny] in that metro that responded and did what we should have done as a city.’
Yet Neely’s family members, who had all but abandoned him, are now playing the 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.” That is certainly true, but not as Zachary claims.
Let’s face it: If Penny had been a black man, or Neely white, this case would never have come to trial. Daniel Penny would not have lost more than a year of his life to this politically, racially motivated case.
It was so razor-thin that even prosecutors said Friday — in what appeared to be a desperate attempt to get the jury to return a favorable verdict — that there was a chance Penny wouldn’t even serve prison 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 certainly didn’t. If only Neely had a father and family, it would have done something.
Instead, last May, Neely had to blatantly threaten a subway car full of passengers, most of whom were daily riders and had never been so terrified.
Meanwhile, protesters chanted “No justice, no peace” and “f*** the police” – even though the police literally had nothing to do with Neely’s death. The very lack of police in the subway system caused Penny to intervene and take down Neely.
Neely’s relatives, who almost abandoned him, now play the victim. Last week, as the jury deliberated, Neely’s father Andre Zachary (pictured) filed a civil suit against Penny.
Neely was left by his family last May to flagrantly threaten a subway car full of passengers, most of whom were daily riders and had never been so terrified.
Caedryn Schrunk, senior brand manager at Nike, in her court testimony: “I was afraid I was going to die at that moment.”
Ivette Rosario, 19, said she thought she was going to faint 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 is truly encouraging 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 country,” said Brooklyn Councilwoman Inna Vernikov. ‘We all feel that the tide is now turning. Today the jury decided that the woke crowd is no longer the arbiter of right and wrong.”
Yes, yes, yes – a million times yes.
Wokery is ready. The pendulum of common sense is swinging to the right, as Trump’s election and rejection of outré-progressivism predict.
House Speaker Mike Johnson called Marine veteran Penny a hero who “protected the lives of people on that train.” We used to celebrate this kind of courage in America, but the left continues its crusade to protect criminals and prosecute heroes.”
Just right.
New York City Councilman Joe Borelli called on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg — whose only other major case this year was the politically motivated Trump hush-money trial — to resign.
“The verdict in this case does nothing more than underscore Alvin Bragg’s perverse sense of justice,” Borelli said. “Every New Yorker is afraid of the subway and had no problem understanding the context of Daniel Penny’s actions. The public prosecutor should resign in shame.’
I can assure my fellow New Yorkers: Alvin Bragg will not resign because he has no shame. Governor Kathy Hochul should fire him.
Not since Al Sharpton has one person done so much to destroy race relations in New York, a city known around the world as a true melting pot. Nowhere else can 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, declined to press charges against the other man who helped restrain Neely. Could it be because that man is black?
It is truly encouraging to see this jury, despite hearing the racially charged chants of outside protesters, deliver a fair verdict. (Image: A person protests the not guilty verdict and is arrested outside the courthouse in Manhattan.)
Anyone with a modicum 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 big payday. And Penny and his family will be looking over their shoulders for the foreseeable future.
Indeed, his justification comes at great personal cost, not just for him, but for every American.
Who in their right mind would ever risk standing up for fellow innocents again, only to be labeled a racist, face criminal charges, costly legal battles and possible prison sentences?
Daniel Penny is a hero. It’s up to decent people everywhere to applaud him as such – and make it abundantly clear that if anything happens to him, there will be hell.