Daniel Penny, the New York City commuter who put Jordan Neely in a fatal chokehold on the subway last week, will be arrested on second-degree manslaughter charges. The 24-year-old former Marine is expected to be arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court Friday. Officials have called Penny a vigilante, reports Politico. Lawyers for Penny said he acted in self-defense. On May 1, Neely was acting erratically aboard a subway train when Penny placed him in a chokehold and held him there with the assistance of other passengers. Neely died from strangulation, and his death was ruled a homicide. A freelance journalist caught the incident on camera but Penny was not initially arrested.
District Attorney Alvin Bragg named Joshua Steinglass to handle the case. Steinglass recently secured a tax fraud conviction of the Trump Organization. Pressure had been mounting for Bragg to act, with leading political figures including Rev. Al Sharpton calling on the prosecutor to charge Penny. City Council members called for Penny’s arrest, calling the episode a racist murder. “We all viewed a lynching for 15 minutes, we understand that was a crime,” said Council Member Kevin Riley, co-chair of the body’s Black, Latino and Asian Caucus. The case will be watched closely, and could have broader implications for mental health care as Neely had cycled through jails, homeless shelters and safety net programs. Some City Council members lamented the failure of the city’s social safety net to help Neely over many years, blaming Mayor Eric Adams for not investing enough city resources in mental health care and housing.