In May 2023, Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old mentally ill homeless man under the influence of K2, a potent synthetic marijuana, boarded a Manhattan subway car and shouted death threats at passengers. Daniel Penny, a 24-year-old Marine veteran and architecture student, acted swiftly to subdue Neely by placing him in a chokehold. Tragically, Neely later died.
While Neely’s death was undeniably unfortunate, passengers expressed gratitude for Penny’s decisive action in neutralizing what they perceived as a grave threat. But for the fact that Penny is white and Neely was black, that would have been that.
The public was shocked two weeks later when New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office charged Penny with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.
At the time, Neely was reportedly on the city’s “Top 50” list—a designation by a task force monitoring individuals deemed of significant concern, as noted by The New York Times.
It was a case that never should have been brought and on Monday, a Manhattan jury voted to acquit Penny. For many Americans, the verdict symbolized a triumph of justice, restoring faith in the legal system.
On the political Left, however, the outcome sparked outrage. Predictably, they managed to ignore the threat Neely had posed to the other passengers on that fateful day, and focused solely on the color of Neely’s skin.
The New Republic ran a headline declaring, MAGA’s Reaction to Daniel Penny Verdict Reveals Its Sick Nature, accusing the far right of celebrating Neely’s death and branding it as driven by racism.
On BlueSky, left-leaning voices echoed this sentiment. Mehdi Hasan, a former MSNBC host, tweeted, “Imagine, just imagine, if Jordan Neely had been white and Daniel Penny was black. Imagine what some of the folks defending Penny today would be saying. Just imagine.”
With all due respect to Hasan, I imagine Penny would not have been charged if he were black. And I’m pretty sure Hasan knows that.
Imagine, just imagine, if Jordan Neely had been white and Daniel Penny was blackImagine what some of the folks defending Penny today would be saying.Just imagine.
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan.bsky.social) 2024-12-09T18:22:09.191Z
Next, NYC Council member for Queens, New York, Tiffany Cabán wrote, “Everything that led up to and followed the lynching of Jordan Neely on a New York City subway train by Daniel Penny could have and should have been prevented.” A deranged homeless man charged onto a subway car, issued death threats, threw trash at and approached other riders, and Cabán portrayed the incident as a lynching?
Everything that led up to and followed the lynching of Jordan Neely on a New York City subway train by Daniel Penny could have and should have been prevented.
— Tiffany Cabán (@tiffanycaban.bsky.social) 2024-12-09T17:30:16.699Z
Next Cabán stated, “Jordan Neely deserved better than the violence of being denied access to stable housing and health care, and then dehumanized for it. Jordan Neely deserved better than the systems that allow for, and justify, extrajudicial white supremacist violence against Black people.” Cabán actually begins to make some sense in the first sentence. The city’s government shares some responsibility for Neely’s predicament. But then she wrongly blames the “systems that allow for, and justify, extrajudicial white supremacist violence against Black people” for Neely’s death.
Actress and activist Mia Farrow noted, “Jordan Neely was 30-yrs old- struggling w mental illness, drug addiction & homelessness. He performed in NYC subways Danial Perry [sic] choked Mr Neely to death. A judge – not a jury- determined that Penny was not guilty of anything. I don’t understand.” Replying to a comment, Farrow pointed out that Penny was White and Neely was Black.
Jordan Neely was 30-yrs old- struggling w mental illness, drug addiction & homelessness. He performed in NYC subways Danial Perry choked Mr Neely to death. A judge – not a jury- determined that Penny was not guilty of anything. . I dont understand. www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/…
— Mia Farrow (@miafarrow.bsky.social) 2024-12-09T17:02:18.605Z
Following Penny’s acquittal, New York Black Lives Matter co-founder Hawk Newsome told a crowd, “we need some Black vigilantes.”
He railed, “People want to jump up and choke us and kill us for being loud? How about we do the same when they attempt to oppress us?”
Perhaps the most strikingly ironic reaction to the verdict came from Jordan Neely’s father, Andre Zachary. His indignation, following years of absence from his son’s life, rang hollow to many observers. Zachary, who was absent during Neely’s upbringing and struggles with homelessness, drug addiction, and mental illness, has now surfaced to file a lawsuit against Daniel Penny, seeking damages “in a sum which exceeds the jurisdictional limits of all lower courts.”
In a Tuesday op-ed, Pastor Corey Brooks, known as the “Rooftop Pastor” and a Fox News contributor, expressed outrage over Zachary’s lawsuit. Brooks raised a series of piercing questions:
Brooks argued that Zachary’s neglect contributed significantly to Neely’s tragic life trajectory, stating, “Neely’s father played a role in his death.”
The op-ed shed light on Neely’s heartbreaking childhood. At 14, he endured the murder of his mother by her abusive boyfriend, who left her body in a suitcase along Henry Hudson Parkway. Neely was forced to testify in court, an experience that left deep scars. Orphaned and placed into foster care, Neely struggled with depression, schizophrenia, drug addiction, and homelessness in adulthood. His rap sheet included 42 arrests for offenses ranging from petty theft to assault.
Brooks directed his frustration at those who turned Neely’s death into a rallying cry for their agendas, including public figures like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Lt. Gov. Antonia Delgado, who prominently attended Neely’s funeral. Activist and MSNBC host Al Sharpton delivered a eulogy blaming systemic racism for Neely’s death.
In his op-ed, Brooks posed a pointed question to these figures and others expressing outrage over Neely’s fate: “Where were all of you when he was alive?”
The question strikes at the heart of the issue. Where indeed?
Elizabeth writes commentary for The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation and a member of the Editorial Board at The Sixteenth Council, a London think tank. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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