Daniel Penny's indictment is an 'atrocity to say the least': Darrin Porcher
Former NYPD Lieutenant Dr. Darrin Porcher joins 'Fox & Friends' ahead of Daniel Penny's arraignment, arguing Penny deserves a 'hero's welcome' for killing Jordan Neely.
Daniel Penny, the 24-year-old U.S. Marine veteran facing a New York City manslaughter charge in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely, pleaded not guilty at his Manhattan arraignment Wednesday morning.
The arraignment took about five minutes, with Penny wearing a navy blue suit and pleading not guilty to charges of second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.
He was granted the same $100,000 bail conditions that previously led to his release from custody.
Neely was a 30-year-old homeless man with a lengthy criminal record involving assaults on subway riders and history of mental illness.
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Daniel Penny arrives for his arraignment at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York on Wednesday. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
He died after an erratic altercation on an F train subway car during which witnesses say he threatened riders and Penny intervened.
Penny restrained him with a chokehold and dragged him to the floor with the help of another straphanger. Yet another passenger caught part of the scuffle on video.
Daniel Penny faces charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide and up to 19 years in prison if convicted on both counts. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
"Daniel Penny stands indicted for Manslaughter after allegedly putting Jordan Neely in a deadly chokehold for several minutes until and after he stopped moving," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. "I hope Mr. Neely’s loved ones are on the path towards healing as they continue to mourn this tragic loss."
Read the indictment (Mobile users go here)
Critics of the decision to prosecute Penny have called the move political and believe that the veteran acted in self-defense or to protect other passengers.
"If [Neely] had carried out his threats, he would have killed somebody," Penny told Fox News Digital in June.
Penny said he was headed to the gym the afternoon of May 1 when an agitated Neely boarded the train around 2:30 p.m. at the Second Avenue station in Manhattan, screaming at passengers and panhandling.
WITNESS TO JORDAN NEELY CHOKEHOLD DEATH CALLS DANIEL PENNY A ‘HERO’
Screenshot from bystander video showing Jordan Neely being held in a chokehold on the New York City subway. (Luces de Nueva York/Juan Alberto Vazquez via Storyful)
"I don’t care if I have to kill an F, I will," Neely ranted, according to another rider. "I’ll go to jail, I’ll take a bullet."
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His antics left other passengers uncomfortable, and Penny intervened.
This undated photo, provided by Mills and Edwards, LLP, in New York, on May 12, 2023, shows Jordan Neely, left, with Carolyn Neely, an aunt. (Courtesy Mills & Edwards, LLP via AP)
"I was scared," he said in the June interview. "I looked around, and I saw older women and children, and they were terrified."
Police questioned and released Penny after the incident and did not arrest him until May 12, 11 days later, after mounting public outcry.
U.S. Marine veteran Daniel Penny, 24, is escorted in handcuffs by the New York City Police Department after turning himself into the 5th Precinct in Lower Manhattan. (Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
He faces charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide and up to 19 years in prison if convicted on both counts.
Neely has been described as a Michael Jackson impersonator — but he also had a violent history, including a 2021 assault on a 67-year-old woman at a subway station.
City authorities knew he suffered from mental illness, according to the New York Post, which shares common ownership with Fox News Digital, and at times came off as suicidal.
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Fox News' Rebecca Rosenberg and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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