The legal defense fund set up for U.S. Marine Daniel Penny, who is facing charges related to the death of a man who threatened subway passengers in New York City, has exceeded $2 million.
As of Tuesday, the GiveSendGo account established for Penny’s legal fees collected $2.4 million and the amount continues to grow.
Widespread Debate Surrounds Daniel Penny’s Subway Incident
Among the donors is singer Kid Rock, who contributed $5,000 and commented that Penny is a “hero,” while condemning Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Other donors have given significantly larger amounts to the fund.
Prominent journalist Tim Pool donated $20,000 to the legal defense fund of Daniel Penny, four times the amount contributed by singer Kid Rock. Additionally, Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy contributed $10,000.
Nearly 47,000 people collectively donated to support Penny, who was charged with second-degree manslaughter by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg after the death of Jordan Neely on May 1.
Daniel Penny was charged because he is white and Jordan Neely is black. If the races were reversed, or if they were both the same race, this wouldn't be an issue at all and everyone would be praising Daniel for his heroism in that train. pic.twitter.com/QG8IYPoxWa
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) May 16, 2023
The incident involving Daniel Penny and Jordan Neely on a New York City subway triggered widespread debate and controversy.
Neely, who was homeless, had a documented history of mental illness and was arrested over 40 times, with several of those arrests for violent crimes.
Challenging the Racial Narrative: Examining the Tragedy Beyond Race
According to witnesses, on the day of the incident, Neely was allegedly acting in a menacing manner and threatening other passengers.
Remove RACE from the story and what happened is Daniel Penny assaulted Jordan Neely because he THOUGHT Neely was about to assult someone.
That is a dangerous precedent. Our cities are rife with mentally troubled homeless people. Should we be allowed to preemptively assault them?
— Curtis Scoon (@CurtisScoon) May 17, 2023
In response, Penny, who is a Marine veteran, intervened and applied a chokehold on Neely, which subsequently led to Neely’s death. This case led to discussions about mental health issues, public safety, and the appropriate use of force in self-defense situations.
In light of the incident, some are attempting to frame the case as a racial issue, due to Daniel Penny being white.
However, Penny’s attorneys assert the tragedy of Jordan Neely’s death is rooted in the city’s failure to address the mental health crisis. This leaves many New Yorkers vulnerable to confrontations with unstable individuals, such as Neely.
Steven Raiser, one of Penny’s lawyers, spoke to New York Post on Monday, expressing that the financial assistance Penny received for his legal defense transcends the actual amount of money raised.
He stated it “has come to symbolize a statement of support for the right and duty to stand up for each other when faced with an imminent threat”.
This article appeared in Right Wing Insider and has been published here with permission.
