Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has called on New York Governor Kathy Hochul to pardon the Marine Corps veteran who was seen on video putting Jordan Neely to a fatal chokehold on a New City subway. York this month.
Neely, a homeless busker who danced dressed as Michael Jackson, was pronounced dead after he was strangled to death by Daniel Penny for about 15 minutes on the subway, following a verbal dispute that escalated into an altercation, according to police. The video showed two other subway riders appearing to help restrain Neely.
in a interview on Fox News Tuesday night, Haley urged Hochul, a Democrat, to forgive Penny: “There’s no question about it. She needs to forgive him immediately. It’s the right thing to do.” She argued that it is in Penny’s blood to “defend and protect” as someone who served in the military.
“He saw danger,” Haley said, referring to Penny. «He was trying to protect himself and the other people on that subway, and the idea that Bragg would go and charge him like this without an investigation without any sort of grand jury is really what I think needs to happen.»
Haley also accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of «allowing street crime to take place throughout New York City.»
“Criminals will continue to rule the streets of New York because they will know there is no liability for anyone who tries to stop them,” he said. “And if she forgives him, that establishes a right over many things, it will put criminals on notice. And she’ll let people like Penny, who really was very brave in that case, she’ll let them know that we’ve got their back.”
Penny was arraigned on a second-degree manslaughter charge that Neely’s family suggested was too lenient.
Lawyers for Neely’s family said she suffered from mental illness after her mother was murdered in 2007.
Juan Alberto Vázquez, a witness who partially captured the incident in cellphone footage, said NBC New York that Neely got on the subway car and began to say that he was hungry and thirsty and «he didn’t care about anything, he didn’t care about going to jail, he didn’t care about getting a big life sentence.» Neely also said that «it doesn’t even matter if I died,» according to Vázquez.
Neely’s death has sparked a national debate, with people decrying vigilantism and some politicians demanding that officials do more to address homelessness, mental health and violence on the subways.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y.. said Bragg should have charged Penny immediately. She also criticized New York City Mayor Eric Adams for do not condemn the murder in a sentence.
Ocasio-Cortez called Adams’ statement a «new low.» “Not being able to clearly condemn a public murder because the victim was of a social status that some would consider ‘too low’ to care about,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.
protesters protesting Nely’s death gathered on crowded subway platforms through New York City and marched through the city streets in the days after the incident. Advocacy groups and Neely’s supporters have demanded justice for her murder, better social services for people with mental health conditions and reforms in local policies that they say further marginalize the city’s homeless communities.
Meanwhile, right-wing political figures and groups have likened Penny to a good Samaritan who rescued the public from danger.
«Let’s Show This Marine…America Has His Back» Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis he tweeted on Friday.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., also called Penny a «Subway Superman».
Both DeSantis and Gaetz promoted a campaign to raise money for Penny’s legal defense that was created on GiveSendGo, the Christian crowdsourcing platform that has also been used to raise money for some protesters arrested on Jan. 6 at the Capitol.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, tweeted that Penny «is a hero» and Neely «was a violent criminal who should have been behind bars.» Fox News host Sean Hannity also described Penny as a fearless veteran who «ruled» Neely.