The Manhattan District Attorney’s office announced that Daniel Penny, who applied a fatal chokehold to a man on a New York City subway, will be charged with manslaughter.
“We cannot provide any additional information until he has been arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court, which we expect to take place tomorrow,” the Manhattan district attorney’s office said in a statement on Thursday.
Penny, a former Marine, will be arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter. The 24-year-old could face up to 15 years behind bars if found guilty.
The charges come after Penny, who is white, applied a chokehold on 30-year-old Black man Jordan Neely almost two weeks ago while aboard the train.
Neely, who was homeless, started yelling about being “fed up and hungry” and “tired of having nothing,” according to a CNN report.
Neely continued to yell on the train, which reportedly rattled some passengers. That’s when Penny got behind him and applied a chokehold that lasted for seven minutes, said a man who recorded the event. Two more men came over, one attempting to intervene and another assisting Penny in restraining Neely.
The event drew national headlines and furious protests over the threat of unchecked white vigilantism and its danger to people of color. Some likened Neely’s killing to Ahmaud Arbery, the 25-year-old man murdered while jogging in Georgia in 2020.
Initially, Penny was questioned by police hours after Neely died but was released without charges. Attorneys representing Penny said he never meant to hurt Neely, a subway performer known for his keen Michael Jackson impressions.
“Daniel never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death,” the statement from Penny’s attorneys said. “We hope that out of this awful tragedy will come a new commitment by our elected officials to address the mental health crisis on our streets and subways.”
However, as the investigation continued and public pressure ratcheted up, Manhattan District Attorney announced the charges against Penny on Thursday.
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