An eyewitness to the physical altercation between Daniel Penny and Jordan Neely recently came forward, giving her side of the story. The unidentified female witness praised Penny and said he acted to defend himself and the passengers around him.
The witness is described as a “woman of color” in her 60s who has resided in New York City for over 50 years. She called Penny, a former Marine, a “hero” for the actions he took on the NYC subway. She also said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg should not have charged Penny for the death of Neely. “He’s a hero,” she said. “It was self-defense, and I believe in my heart that he saved a lot of people that day that could have gotten hurt,” the woman told Fox News.
According to the woman, Neely began behaving in a violent, threatening manner that made other passengers uncomfortable. She recounted the experience, “I’m sitting on a train reading my book, and, all of a sudden, I hear someone spewing this rhetoric. He said, ‘I don’t care if I have to kill an F, I will. I’ll go to jail, I’ll take a bullet.’” She continued, “I’m looking at where we are in the tube, in the sardine can, and I’m like, ‘OK, we’re in between stations. There’s nowhere we can go.’ The people on that train, we were scared. We were scared for our lives.”
Reportedly, Penny stepped in to de-escalate the situation after Neely used the alarming words “kill” and “bullet”. The eyewitness said, “Why in the world would you take a bullet? Why? You don’t take a bullet because you’ve snatched something from somebody’s hand. You take a bullet for violence.” She claimed that Neely waited until the last minute before stepping in to confront Neely.
“Mr. Penny cared for people. That’s what he did. That is his crime,” said the woman who claimed three other passengers thanked him for standing up for them. “This isn’t about race. This is about people of all colors who were very, very afraid and a man who stepped in to help them,” she added. “Nobody wants to kill anybody. Mr. Penny didn’t want to kill that man,” she said. “You should have seen the way Mr. Penny looked. He was distraught. He was very, very, very visibly distressed. And he didn’t go. He didn’t run. He stayed.”
Freelance journalist Alberto Vasquez described Neely’s behavior on the subway, “He started screaming in an aggressive manner. He said he had no food, he had no drink, that he was tired and doesn’t care if he goes to jail. He started screaming all these things, took off his jacket, a black jacket that he had, and threw it on the ground.”
Daniel Penny’s legal defense fund has reached almost $2.7 million in donations. Amiri King shared a tweet with the caption, “I’ve been in touch with Daniel’s team. He’s obviously been down. The support you all are showing is lifting his spirits. Don’t let DA Alvin Bragg’s bullsh*t go unnoticed. Jordan Neely only received 4 months for attempting to kidnap a 7 year old little girl. Daniel Penny is facing a maximum of 15 years for yeeting that piece of sh*t. Comment below your support for Daniel. I’ll make sure he sees it. Semper.”
I’ve been in touch with Daniel’s team. He’s obviously been down.
The support you all are showing is lifting his spirits.
Don’t let DA Alvin Bragg’s bullshit go unnoticed.
Jordan Neely only received 4 months for attempting to kidnap a 7 year old little girl.
Daniel Penny is… pic.twitter.com/BmVAVUSqVm
— Amiri King (@AmiriKing) May 12, 2023
Note: Featured Image is Screen Grab from Embedded Video.
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