The Marine veteran captured on video holding homeless busker Jordan Neely in a chokehold that led to his death is expected to surrender and face charges as early as Friday.
According to News 4 New York, three sources have confirmed that the decision to charge 24-year-old Daniel Penny was made by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.
These charges will go forward without being “presented to a grand jury at this time.”
Jordan Neely, 30, died on May 1 when Penny and two other passengers subdued him for several minutes on New York City’s subway F train. Neely had allegedly been ranting aggressively and threatening other riders.
Penny had Neely in a hold designed to incapacitate a person, as seen in footage of the incident taken by passengers. Shortly after, footage shows the 24-year-old placing Neely in a “recovery position” once he was subdued and no longer a threat.
BREAKING: Full footage reveals former Marine Daniel Penny putting Jordan Neely in 'recovery position', passengers complimenting him.
This needs to go viral. Killers don’t get complemented by strangers and they don’t put people in the recovery position. pic.twitter.com/mYhZsrSW2g
— 1776 (@TheWakeninq) May 8, 2023
Last week, the medical examiner determined that the chokehold killed Neely, ruling the death a homicide.
Since the May 1 incident, the White House has called for a “thorough investigation” into Neely’s death. Meanwhile, stories and videos have begun to circulate showing the homeless busker allegedly attacking others and behaving erratically on several occasions.
Several individuals have reported that Neely verbally abused and threatened them on subway platforms.
Penny’s attorneys have previously mentioned that there was no way the ex-Marine “could have foreseen” his attempt to stop a potential threat would result in death.
Neely’s family allegedly believes that is essentially an admission of guilt.
Penny’s attorneys also said that Neely “began aggressively threatening Daniel,” leading the ex-Marine and other passengers to “act to protect themselves until help arrived.”
Neely’s family have admitted he suffered from mental health issues and was “in and out” of Bellvue Hospital for the last number of years. Due to lack of insurance, he was unable to access the help he required.
Since his death, people have shared videos of Neely dancing on subway cars, dressed as music legend Michael Jackson. However, many of these videos date back to the early 2010s.
AOC would *hate* to see this video of Jordan Neely going viral that shows him violently assaulting a man & using the homophobic “F-word” slur about gays and drag queens
Would really hurt her efforts to start race riots
Now we know why he was arrested 40+ times pic.twitter.com/B8zjoU0FTh
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) May 5, 2023
In recent videos of the 30-year-old, he is seen shouting slurs and behaving unpredictably.
Despite this, protests have been organized in response to Neely’s death. Politicians, including AOC, have also indicated that defending one’s self against homeless people on public transport is tantamount to murder.
Jordan Neely was murdered.
But bc Jordan was houseless and crying for food in a time when the city is raising rents and stripping services to militarize itself while many in power demonize the poor, the murderer gets protected w/ passive headlines + no charges.
It’s disgusting. https://t.co/YJeQp9bbgE
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 3, 2023
In light of the mounting pressure to see Penny charged, a GiveSendGo was organized to support his legal defense.
It is unclear at this time whether or not District Attorney Bragg’s office will pursue charges against the other two riders seen on film subduing Neely.
