Daniel Penny arrives at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse on December 9, 2024, in New York City. | Source: Alex Kent / Getty
In the latest indication of the type of political leadership that will be guiding the nation for the next four years, the next vice president of the United States appeared to reward the killing of an unarmed Black man by inviting the very person who killed him to a college football game this weekend.
The tasteless and telling move by JD Vance to ask Daniel Penny to accompany him to the Army-Navy game was reported just days after the former Marine’s acquittal of negligent homicide on Monday.
But even though a New York City jury returned a not-guilty verdict, controversy remains amid criticism of Penny attacking Jordan Neely, an unhoused street performer in the throes of a mental health crisis aboard a subway in Manhattan, over a perceived threat. The devil is in the details as Penny, on May 1, 2023, took the law, and Neely, into his own hands and sneaked up behind the unwitting victim and placed him in a sprawling chokehold for at least six straight minutes until death was apparent. Penny said he acted with lethal force because Neely was threatening subway passengers by yelling and throwing his jacket on the train car floor, but witnesses testified during the trial that Neely never attacked anyone. The medical examiner who performed Neely’s autopsy also testified that the death was caused by Penny’s chokehold. Video evidence supported that testimony. But when the jury couldn’t unanimously agree on a manslaughter charge, prosecutors asked the judge to throw it out, prompting a swift not-guilty verdict on the lesser charge.
Source: X screenshot
It was in that controversial context that Vance invited Penny to the game, an overture that was first reported Friday morning by Reese Gorman, a journalist at the NOTUS news website.
Citing a “source familiar,” Gorman added in the post on X, formerly Twitter, that the pair “will be joining President Trump in his suite at the game.”
About an hour later, Vance confirmed the report on X by complimenting Penny in a post that all but supported vigilante violence.
“Daniel’s a good guy, and New York’s mob district attorney tried to ruin his life for having a backbone,” Vance tweeted before adding: “I’m grateful he accepted my invitation and hope he’s able to have fun and appreciate how much his fellow citizens admire his courage.”
Loosely translated, Vance’s post described Penny’s decision to fatally attack Neely – who, again, was unarmed and an unsuspecting victim of violence – as “courage.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 24: NYPD Supporters of Jordan Neely protest a rally in support of Daniel Penny at Collect Pond Park on May 24, 2023 in New York City. | Source: Michael M. Santiago / Getty
Now’s a good time for a reminder that Vance, in an effort to fearmonger about immigration, is guilty of knowingly spreading false and racist conspiracy theories claiming that Haitian immigrants in his state of Ohio were killing and eating their white neighbors’ pets.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, the founder and president of National Action Network (NAN) who has been among the most vocal civil rights and social justice leaders outspoken about Penny’s “murder” of Neely, ripped Vance’s invitation.
“While JD Vance and Donald Trump will cozy up with Daniel Penny and celebrate the fact that he killed a man in crisis, members of NAN will honor the life of Jordan Neely and condemn how he died,” Sharpton said in a statement sent to NewsOne. “Let’s call Vance’s invitation what it really is: a pure endorsement of vigilantism – even if it leads to murder.”
Sharpton said he planned to expound on that sentiment during his weekly address at NAN headquarters in New York City on Saturday.
“I condemned these actions at Jordan’s funeral last May and I will amplify that call at the House of Justice this weekend,” Sharpton added.
The Rev, Al Sharpton speaks the funeral service for Jordan Neely, at Mount Neboh Baptist Church in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City on May 19, 2023. | Source: ED JONES / Getty
The mother of Eric Garner – an unarmed Black man who was choked to death by an NYPD mob over the nonviolent suspicion of illegally selling untaxed loose cigarettes – suggested Penny benefited from the color of his skin when it came to the results of his trial.
“If this had been the other way – if your family had murdered this so-called innocent guy now – it would have been a different story,” Gwen Carr told Neely’s family about Penny at a press conference held immediately following the reading of the verdict. “He would have been in jail and would have never came out. But they don’t do the same to us. It’s two justice systems and we have to stop this.”
Penny was just the latest in a string of white male vigilantes who were not held accountable for the deaths they caused after taking the law into their own hands.
And JD Vance will be a literal heartbeat from the presidency in a little more than a month.
This is America.
SEE ALSO:
Infamous ‘Subway Vigilante’ Bernhard Goetz Speaks Out About Daniel Penny’s Chokehold Trial
The Killing Of Jordan Neely And Why Police Should Also Be Held To Account
