The other big story last week, involving a controversial killing of someone in New York City, was the trial of Daniel Penny, a Marine who in May of 2023 choked Jordan Neely to death on a subway train. Neely was a mentally ill homeless man who had been bothering people on the train, and after he died, Penny was charged with his death. In his trial, which just wrapped up, Penny was acquitted on the count of criminally negligent homicide, while the count of second-degree manslaughter was dismissed, leading Penny to walk free.
The case, much like the killing of Brian Thompson, was seen wildly differently by different people. Penny gave an interview to Fox News on Thursday, and this weekend he will be a guest of J.D. Vance at the Army/Navy Game, where they will sit with President-Elect Donald Trump, NOTUS reported.
New: VP-Elect JD Vance has invited Daniel Penny to be his personal guest at the Army-Navy game this weekend, per source familiar.
They will be joining President Trump in his suite at the game.
— Reese Gorman (@reesejgorman) December 13, 2024
“Daniel’s a good guy, and New York’s mob district attorney tried to ruin his life for having a backbone,” Vance posted on X. “I’m grateful he accepted my invitation and hope he’s able to have fun and appreciate how much his fellow citizens admire his courage.”
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The reference to the “mob district attorney” is a shot at District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who remains the only prosecutor to secure a conviction against Donald Trump, in the hush money case. Sentencing in the case, in which Trump was convicted on 34 counts, has been postponed, and it’s now up to Judge Juan Merchan what will happen with the conviction. Per The Hill, the judge could dismiss the case altgoether, pause it while Trump is in office, sentence Trump anyway, ahead of his inauguration, or toss the case based on evidence unrelated to Trump’s election as president.
Daniel Penny deserves this honor. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/lVF33guuSm
— 🌟Lite Brite🌟 (@LiteBriteLite) December 13, 2024
“Part of my worry was if I let him go and an incoming train comes, as he’s running away, pushes somebody onto the tracks,” Penny told Fox News host Jeanine Pirro in his first post-trial interview. “It’s part of the reason why I did what I did in the way that I did it.”
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
