The Marine veteran who is charged with manslaughter in the New York City subway chokehold death of a homeless black man has broken his silence to insist that the killing had nothing to do with race.
‘I judge a person based on their character. I’m not a white supremacist,’ Daniel Penny told the New York Post in an interview on Saturday, a week after he was hit with a second-degree manslaughter charge in the death of Jordan Neely.
The May 1 confrontation was caught on video, showing Penny restraining Neely with the help of two other passengers, after the homeless Michael Jackson impersonator reportedly screamed threats and menaced people on the train.
Now, Penny suggests he would take action again if faced with similar circumstances, nodding and telling Post: ‘I would — if there was a threat and danger in the present…’
On Friday, Neely’s funeral was held in Harlem, where Rev. Al Sharpton delivered a fiery eulogy to a crowd of hundreds, saying ‘when they choked Jordan, they put their arms around all of us’.
But Penny rejected the suggestion that his fatal confrontation with Neely was an act of hatred or discrimination, saying, ‘This had nothing to do with race.’
‘I mean, it’s, it’s a little bit comical. Everybody who’s ever met me can tell you, I love all people, I love all cultures,’ he told the Post.
‘You can tell by my past and all my travels and adventures around the world. I was actually planning a road trip through Africa before this happened,’ said Penny.
‘I’m a normal guy,’ added Penny, insisting that he is not a vigilante.
Penny, who is from Long Island, is facing 15 years in prison for putting Neely in the chokehold, in a subway confrontation that began after Neely allegedly screamed threats and hurled objects on the train.
The case has been highly polarizing, with conservative politicians jumping to defend Penny, and prominent liberals calling for him to be convicted of murder and jailed.
But Penny told the Post that he does not watch the news, and that while he was aware of negative opinions about him, he tried not to let them affect him.
‘If you’re faced with all these challenges, you have to remain calm,’ he said. ‘What’s the point of worrying about something, worrying is not going to make your problems disappear. I attribute this to my father and grandfather. They are very very stoic.’
Penny also said he had quit social media years ago.
‘I don’t follow anyone, and I don’t have social media because I really don’t like the attention and I just think there are better ways to spend your time. I don’t like the limelight.’
When a Post reporter read Penny part of Sharpton’s eulogy at Friday’s funeral, Penny responded by nodding and saying that he was ‘not sure’ who Sharpton is, adding that he doesn’t ‘really know celebrities that well.’
Neely’s funeral was attended by prominent left-wing politicians including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has accused Penny of murder.
At the funeral at the Mount Neboh Baptist Church in Harlem, Sharpton delivered a fiery eulogy condemning Neely’s death as unjust and undeserved.
‘We can’t live in a city where you can choke me to death with no provocation, no weapon, no threat and you go home and sleep in your bed while my family has to put me into a cemetery,’ said Sharpton.
Neely had been threatening and throwing trash on the uptown F train in New York City before his death and had a lengthy criminal record for offenses including assault and disorderly conduct.
Sharpton said his behavior was a cry for help.
‘Jordan was not annoying anyone on the train. Jordan was screaming for help. We keep criminalizing people with mental illness. They don’t need abuse, they need help,’ he said.
‘We should not not celebrate Jordan’s life, but we should not forget how he died. We’re not here because of natural causes.’
Sharpton also took aim at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and others who have characterized Penny as a ‘Good Samaritan’ and defended his actions.
‘A good Samaritan helps those in trouble, they don’t choke them out. What happened to Jordan was a crime and this family shouldn’t have to stand alone.’
Sharpton also condemned what he said was New York City’s failure to care for the homeless.
‘He’s been choked his whole life,’ Sharpton said, adding that ‘in your name, we’re going to change how they deal with the homeless’.
Developing story, more to follow.