US VP awards New York ‘subway vigilante’

(MENAFN) US Vice President-elect J.D. Vance has extended an invitation to Daniel Penny, the former Marine acquitted of murder charges in the 2023 subway incident, to be his guest at the Army-Navy football game in Washington. This invitation follows a Manhattan jury’s decision to clear Penny of racially motivated homicide charges in the May 2023 case, where Penny was involved in subduing Jordan Neely, a mentally ill homeless man who had threatened passengers on the subway.

Penny, like Vance, a former Marine, was charged with homicide after Neely entered a subway car shouting threats. Penny, along with two friends, restrained Neely, who later died. Vance praised Penny’s courage, criticizing the prosecution by New York’s district attorney as an attempt to ruin his life for acting in defense of others. Vance further expressed his relief that Penny had been acquitted and expressed hope that Penny would enjoy attending the game.

The case sparked significant political debate in the US. While Republicans, including Vance and former President Donald Trump, accused New York Democrats of criminalizing self-defense, Democrats portrayed the incident as racially charged. The Manhattan District Attorney's office referred to Penny only as "the white man" during the trial and invoked comparisons to the George Floyd case, heightening racial tensions. Penny, who did not testify during the trial, denied having racial motives, asserting he was merely defending passengers amid rising violence on the subway.

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