One could be forgiven for believing that elements of the progressive left have, for about the last 16 years, been trying very hard to stir racial tensions in the United States. These agitators – and included among their ranks are journalists and elected officials – have injected divisive racial tropes and symbolism into almost every aspect of American society. They have largely failed to elicit the desired effect among the general population. Their latest disappointment came on Dec. 9, when Marine veteran Daniel Penny was found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the May 2023 death of Jordan Neely on a New York subway train.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg prosecuted Penny after the latter used a chokehold to subdue Neely, who had a history of violent behavior and began terrorizing subway riders with death threats. Neely died shortly after the incident. Since taking office, Bragg has downgraded most felony offenses his office has handled to lesser charges. He is also happy to see offenders released without bail. Neely was black, however, and Penny was white, and so Bragg – the king of politically jaundiced prosecutions – took what was, for him, an unusually aggressive posture. Penny was charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide and had bail set at $100,000.
The more serious manslaughter charge was thrown out on Dec. 6 after jurors informed Judge Maxwell Wiley that they could not reach a unanimous verdict. It was puzzling to many that the jury was then instructed to continue deliberating the negligent homicide charge. Wiley had previously told jurors they could only consider this lesser charge if they delivered a “not guilty” verdict for the manslaughter charge, which they did not. The judge also stated that the manslaughter count could not be dismissed – but then did just that upon Bragg’s request.
It was almost as if the DA and the judge were conspiring to make sure Daniel Penny was convicted and imprisoned for something – but that is only speculation, of course.
After Daniel Penny was acquitted, the usual race hucksters came out to vent their stage-managed anger at another allegedly racist verdict. Hawk Newsome, the founder of the New York chapter of Black Lives Matter, openly incited racial violence at a press conference. Calling for “black vigilantes,” Newsome said, “People wanna jump up and choke us and kill us for being loud? How ‘bout we do the same when they attempt to oppress us?” Newsome completely misrepresented the events leading up to Neely's death. Fueled by drugs, Neely boarded the subway train and immediately began yelling that he was going to kill someone. Daniel Penny acted to protect his fellow subway riders – an ethnically diverse group of people – from what must have clearly appeared to him and other passengers to be an imminent and potentially deadly threat.
Welcome to the Club, Daniel Penny
Even though Penny was not charged with a hate crime, the prosecution attempted to inject race into the courtroom, betraying Bragg’s ulterior motive.
After the verdict was delivered, the DA decided to play the victim card. A statement put out by his office accepted the jury's decision but added, “Unfortunately, over the duration of this trial, talented career prosecutors and their family members were besieged with hate and threats – on social media, by phone and over email. Simply put, this is unacceptable.” Apparently, Bragg did not find it unacceptable that Neely threatened to kill random innocent subway riders in his crime-ridden city.
Daniel Penny joins Kyle Rittenhouse, George Zimmerman – who shot and killed Trayvon Martin in self-defense back in 2012 – and several law enforcement officers as one who has been unfairly targeted, maligned, and prosecuted for the justified use of force in self-defense or in the defense of others. Meanwhile, progressive DAs and activist judges across the country are releasing, or showing jaw-dropping leniency to, hardened violent criminals – many of whom return to their vicious ways the moment they are back out on the streets. Race-baiters on the left bemoan an unfair justice system. It's little wonder that a great many Americans feel the same way – but for entirely different reasons.
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