A woman who witnessed the May 1 confrontation between a homeless New Yorker, Jordan Neely, and subway passengers is coming forward to say she would testify on behalf of the man charged with Neely’s accidental death, Daniel Penny. The 66-year old is calling Mr. Penny a “hero” as he raises substantial sums for his legal defense.       

“People that travel the subway see and hear everything — this was different. And frightening,” the unidentified woman told the New York Post of Neely’s demeanor on May 1. “People were gravitating towards the exit doors, and we couldn’t get out because we were still between stations,” she said.

Mr. Penny, a 24-year old Marine, has been charged with manslaughter in the second degree after placing Neely in a chokehold that Mr. Penny’s lawyers say accidentally resulted in his death. Mr. Penny, assisted by other straphangers, subdued Neeley, who long struggled with homelessness and mental illness, after he was said to be behaving belligerently to other passengers. 

“The rhetoric from Mr. Neely was very frightening, it was very harsh,” the witness said. She claims that Neely loudly told passengers he was willing to “kill a motherf—,” take “a bullet,” and go to jail as he was having a mental episode on the subway car. That story is in line with what other passengers have said occurred. 

“People exited quickly” after the train pulled into the station in downtown Manhattan “and people were trying to call 911 when they were in the train … I sensed danger,” she said. 

The woman defended Mr. Penny’s right to a fair trial before his peers saying that he “deserves a chance” to explain why what he did was necessary. She would testify “if necessary,” she told the Post. Neely “gave people cause to feel that their life was being threatened. He didn’t care. He said he didn’t care.” She said she considers Mr. Penny “to be a hero.”   

The legal defense fund for Mr. Perry has raised a substantial amount of money since his arrest just last week. According to a fundraising page set up by what appears to be his legal team, Mr. Penny’s legal defense fund has raised more than $2.67 million as of Friday afternoon. 

The website describes Mr. Penny as “a twenty-four-year-old college student and decorated Marine veteran, facing a criminal investigation stemming from him protecting individuals on a NYC subway train from an assailant who later died.”

It further states that the funds raised will be used to pay “legal fees incurred from any criminal charges filed and any future civil lawsuits that may arise.”

Outside of the Manhattan courthouse where Mr. Penny was arraigned on May 12, a lawyer for the family of Neely, Donte Mills, said on Friday that Mr. Penny’s “indifference” for another man’s life demands he be charged. “There was no attack,” Mr. Mills said to reporters. “Mr. Neely did not attack anyone, he did not touch anyone, he did not hit anyone, but he was choked to death and that can’t stand.”

A number of prominent conservatives have donated to Mr. Penny’s legal defense fund — including one soon-to-be presidential candidate. A conservative podcast star, Tim Pool, announced on Twitter that he had donated $20,000 to the fund. The founder of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk, told his followers to donate. 

Even Governor DeSantis said he donated to Mr. Penny’s legal defense. “We must defeat the Soros-Funded DAs, stop the Left’s pro-criminal agenda, and take back the streets for law abiding citizens,” he wrote on Twitter. “We stand with Good Samaritans like Daniel Penny. Let’s show this Marine … America’s got his back.”

In a statement to the New York Times, the district attorney’s office announced the decision to charge Mr. Penny with manslaughter in the second degree on May 11, and he turned himself in the following day. “Daniel Penny will be arrested on a charge of manslaughter in the second degree,” the statement said. “We cannot provide any additional information until he has been arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court, which we expect to take place tomorrow.”

The decision to charge him followed an uproar from homeless advocates including Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who cried “murder” and demanded Mr. Penny be held accountable.  

Under New York criminal law, manslaughter in the second degree is defined as recklessly, even if unintentionally, killing another person. A conviction carries a sentence of up to 15 years and substantial fines. 

Neely, a well-known Michael Jackson impersonator before his descent into mental illness, had a long rap sheet, including arrests for drug possession, assault, and other crimes. 

In a letter sent day’s after Neely’s death, Mr. Penny’s lawyers said in a public letter that he “never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death.”

Black Lives Matter activists and politicians have led protests in the streets and called for murder charges to be brought against Mr. Penny. 
“Jordan Neely was murdered,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said on Twitter. “But bc Jordan was houseless and crying for food in a time when the city is raising rents and stripping services to militarize itself while many in power demonize the poor, the murderer gets protected w/ passive headlines + no charges. It’s disgusting.”