Daniel Penny’s defense fund raises over $1 million following manslaughter charge after choking of subway passenger
Daniel Penny’s defense fund raised more than $1 million after his manslaughter charges following the choke-out of a wannabe Michael Jackson subway rider.
Penny, an ex-U.S. Marine who was a passenger on the Manhattan subway, put Jordan Neely in a chokehold and killed him on 1 May.
Penny subdued Neely after he acted erratically, threatened other passengers and reacted to his behavior.
Penny was released from jail on bail of $100,000 on Friday after being charged with second-degree murder in Neely’s case.
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Penny’s attorneys, citing the huge bail fee as a reason for their support, created a GiveSendGo Campaign with the name ‘Daniel Penny’s Legal Defense Fund’.
Over 23,000 donors contributed an average of $821 every minute to raise $1,400 314 by Saturday evening (13 May).
The site servers were jammed up and blocked for users when the surge reached more than $1100 per minute.
Jacob Wells, co-founder of GiveSendGo told The Post that “there was a surge in traffic which temporarily overloaded our servers.”
After the initial wave of donations, many supporters left messages commending Penny’s controversial actions.
One donor posted on the website: “The hero is this man, he was able to take down a lunatic.”
Another donor, who gave $100, wrote: “Thank you for your generosity.”
Alfred Sletten, who donated $10, wrote, “Attacking a hero is an travesty, New York and United States should feel ashamed.”
Marcia Mulcahy called him a “nice kid” after being Penny’s neighbor for four years on Long Island.
She said, “Look at the [fundraiser] and see what people think about him.”
We all contribute to it.
She said, “He was only trying to help in the subway.” It was a frightening situation, and everything went wrong. He didn’t want to hurt anyone. “He was trying to help.”
Justine Baldwin, Penny’s cousin, reacted angrily after the charges were announced. She said: “It is disgusting.” Here is a young soldier who served his country.
What about the two other gentlemen who helped him [restrain Neely] on the subway? “They haven’t been named.”
He was a handsome and fun child who you could always count on for help.
Thomas Kenniff, Penny’s lawyer, said that Penny was in the Marines four years. He served abroad twice and achieved the rank of sergeant. In 2021 he received an honorable discharge.
Penny is confident she will be cleared of all wrongdoing and has faced many such situations before.
He enlisted in the Marine Corps straight out of highschool. Kenniff, The Post reported that while many of Daniel’s peers chose the comforts and conveniences of college life over Daniel’s oath of duty to defend his nation.
He is ready to take on this case with the same resolve and is humbled by knowing he’s not alone.
Neely’s aunt confirmed later that he had schizophrenia, PTSD, and depression before his death.
