Now that Jordan Neely, 30, has tragically passed away, a man who claims Neely once attacked him is speaking up.
A U.S. Marine named Daniel Penny and at least two other individuals tried to stop Neely last week when he was making threats and acting suspiciously and violently on a subway train in New York City, but Neely ultimately died from his injuries. Penny can be seen putting Neely in a chokehold on video as they both wait for the cops. A verdict of murder was reached in Neely’s case.
New York Daily News said Judge Filemon Castillo Baltazar said Neely needed to be in treatment.
Baltazar said that in 2019, while waiting on a train in Greenwich Village, he was attacked by Neely. He claims that Neely walked up to him out of nowhere and hit him in the head.
I took a blow to the noggin. He didn’t say anything, he simply punched me. To paraphrase Baltazar: “He hit me above my right eye.”
The victim of Penny’s attack claimed that he “shouldn’t be punished” for his actions.
The Daily Wire said that Neely was suffering mental health issues and has a long record of convictions for offenses like trespassing and criminal violence. In 2021, Neely struck a 67-year-old woman, resulting in a 15-month program for his actions.
Neely allegedly boarded the F train on Monday and began shouting at passengers, saying things like “I’ll hurt anyone on this train” and “ready to die.” Penny eventually intervened to restrain Neely. She tackled him to the floor and choked the breath out of him. A video of the incident shows Neely, then 30 years old, thrashing his legs and trying to free himself from a chokehold while at least two other riders join in to aid. One of the individuals who was assisting to keep Neely down can be heard on the metro train yelling for the police.
In a statement released through his attorneys at Raiser and Kenniff, P.C. on Friday, Penny made a few remarks.
“First, on behalf of Daniel Penny, we want to express our condolences to Mr. Neely’s family and friends,” the statement said. Mr. Neely’s documented history of rage and irrationality suggested he was suffering from untreated mental illness. When Mr. Neely became hostile against Daniel Penny and the other passengers, Daniel and the others acted to protect themselves until assistance arrived. Daniel had no intention of killing Mr. Neely and had no way of foreseeing his untimely demise.
“Those with mental illness have been treated with indifference for too long,” the statement read. There is a mental health epidemic in our streets and subways, and we hope this tragedy will make our elected authorities more determined than ever to do something about it.