‘Great act of justice’: Giuliani, DeSantis cheer as Daniel Penny becomes right-wing darling after acquittal in Jordan Neely subway chokehold death

Republicans and right-wing figureheads were quick to hail the not-guilty verdict of Daniel Penny, the man acquitted Monday of killing Jordan Neeley on a New York subway.

Now Penny, 26, stands to become a right-wing darling — á la George Zimmerman and Kyle Rittenhouse — as an accused killer found not guilty. Rittenhouse, found not guilty of shooting two people to death and injuring a third during a 2020 Black Lives Matter rally in Wisconsin, congratulated Penny in posts on X, formerly Twitter.

“Self-defense is still alive in this country,” Rittenhouse wrote, followed by three American flag emoji.

Self-defense is still alive in this country. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

— Kyle Rittenhouse (@ThisIsKyleR) December 9, 2024

Republicans not only chimed in with kudos, but also ripped Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

“The acquittal of Daniel Penny is clearly the just and correct verdict,” said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican. “I must admit I was skeptical that a jury in New York City would reach a unanimous not guilty verdict, and the jury deserves credit for doing the right thing. Meanwhile, is there a worse prosecutor in America than Alvin Bragg?”

The acquittal of Daniel Penny is clearly the just and correct verdict. I must admit I was skeptical that a jury in New York City would reach a unanimous not guilty verdict, and the jury deserves credit for doing the right thing.

Meanwhile, is there a worse prosecutor in America … https://t.co/fVJJQTQQqV

— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) December 9, 2024

Former New York City Mayor and Donald Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani said Penny should be up for an award.

A great act of justice by 12 fair New Yorkers rejecting the racist, unjust charges of Bragg, the Soros imposed DA.

Daniel Penny is a hero and deserves a medal from NYC and @realDonaldTrump.

Hochul should remove Bragg, now!

— Rudy W. Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) December 9, 2024

Many on the right have seen Penny, Rittenhouse and Zimmerman as heroes for acting in self-defense with the latter two also vocally advocating for looser gun restrictions. Rittenhouse and Zimmerman have been on the right-wing speaking circuit for years with the former amassing a large audience on social media.

The jury deliberated over four days. During deliberations, the judge dismissed the manslaughter charge, the most serious count Penny was facing. In the end, the jury voted not guilty for criminally negligent homicide. Penny briefly smiled as he heard the verdict, per The Associated Press.

Neely’s family, meanwhile, was devastated.

“It really, really hurts,” Neely’s father Andre Zachery said outside the courthouse, the AP reported. “I had enough of this. The system is rigged.”

As Law&Crime previously reported, a video of Penny holding Neely, 30, in a chokehold on the northbound F train went viral after Neely died. Penny said he was listening to music with headphones on when Neely boarded the train at Second Avenue. The college student said he removed his headphones when he saw Neely throw his jacket down at passengers.

“This was a scary situation,” Penny said in one of four video clips. “The three main threats he repeated over and over was, ‘I’m going to kill you. I’m prepared to go to jail for life, and I’m willing to die.'”

Freelance journalist Juan Alberto Vasquez recorded a portion of the encounter between Penny and Neely. Penny said that portion of the video only recorded what happened after he and others restrained Neely.

“Some people say I was holding on to Mr. Neely for 15 minutes. This is not true,” Penny said. “The reason why there’s no video at the start of the altercation is because people were too afraid getting away from him.”

Penny said the interaction between him and Neely lasted less than five minutes.

“I was praying that the police would come and take this situation over. I couldn’t sit still and let him carry out these threats,” said Penny.

According to published reports, Jordan Neely had worked as a street performer impersonating Michael Jackson. His family has said he suffered from a mental illness that went untreated. New York City had listed him as one of the Top 50 people in the city who could be considered a danger to himself and others because of his mental illness.

Neely’s death sparked outrage among some New Yorkers and activists nationwide. Protesters blocked a subway car one evening as they demanded Penny’s arrest.

Civil rights activists claim racism led to Penny’s decision to place Neely in a chokehold that day. Penny calls those claims “ridiculous.”

“I didn’t see a Black man threatening passengers. I saw a man threatening passengers — a lot of whom were people of color. A man who helped restrain Mr. Neely was a person of color,” said Penny.

Angenette Levy contributed to this report.