XPost: alt.journalism.criticism, sci.military.naval, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh   
   XPost: talk.politics.guns, sac.politics   
   From: nytnews@nytimes.com   
      
   By Maria Cramer   
   May 14, 2023   
   Updated 7:51 p.m. ET   
   Little is known about the political views of Daniel Penny, the ex-Marine   
   charged with fatally choking Jordan Neely on a New York City subway.   
      
   But since Mr. Penny’s arrest on Friday on second-degree manslaughter   
   charges, he has been quickly embraced by right-wing political figures and   
   groups.   
      
   A campaign to raise money for his legal defense — set up on GiveSendGo, a   
   self-described Christian crowdfunding site that was also used to raise   
   funds for some of those arrested in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol — had   
   raised more than $1.8 million as of Sunday night.   
      
   In urging his followers to donate to the fund, Gov. Ron DeSantis of   
   Florida, a likely Republican presidential candidate, compared Mr. Penny to   
   the good Samaritan, a biblical figure who comes to the aid of a man who   
   has been beaten, stripped of his clothes and left on the side of the road.   
      
   “Let’s show this Marine… America’s got his back,” he said on Twitter on   
   Friday.   
      
   Representative Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican, called Mr. Penny a   
   “Subway Superman.”   
      
   Other right-wing commentators have also rallied to Mr. Penny’s side,   
   including Charlie Kirk, who runs Turning Point USA, a conservative student   
   group, and Jenna Ellis, a lawyer for former President Donald J. Trump.   
      
   The groundswell of support from the right is a stark contrast to the   
   reaction on the left after the killing of Mr. Neely, 30, on May 1.   
   Protesters called for Mr. Penny’s arrest. Political figures including   
   Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, said   
   Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, should have charged Mr.   
   Penny immediately.   
      
   The Subway Chokehold Death of Jordan Neely   
   What Happened: On May 1, a 24-year-old man named Daniel Penny choked   
   Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man, to death on a New York City   
   subway train. The death was ruled a homicide.   
      
   New Yorkers React: Many people saw in Neely’s choking a heinous act of   
   violence and the city’s failure to care for people with mental illness.   
   Others saw it as a reaction to fears about public safety in New York.   
   Two Men’s Disparate Paths: Neely’s mental health decline played out in   
   public after his mother was strangled. His attacker was a Marine veteran   
   who said he was protecting himself and others.   
      
   The Dangers of Chokeholds: Doctors have long warned that neck restraints   
   like the one used to kill Neely are deadly. Here’s why they are so   
   dangerous.   
      
   The Republican support for Mr. Penny, 24, who grew up on Long Island and   
   whose most recent New York voter registration, from 2016, lists his party   
   affiliation as Conservative, followed a pattern of response to past   
   incidents, according to political analysts.   
      
   Conservative commentators also hailed as a hero Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-   
   year-old from Antioch, Ill., who shot three men, two of them fatally,   
   during demonstrations in Kenosha, Wis., in 2020. Mr. Trump met with him   
   after he was acquitted of murder charges and called him “a nice young   
   man.”   
      
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   Greg Abbott, the Republican governor of Texas, has said he plans to pardon   
   Daniel Perry, an Army sergeant who was sentenced to 25 years in prison   
   earlier this month for fatally shooting an armed man during a Black Lives   
   Matter protest in Austin.   
      
   Like these men, Mr. Penny has become symbolic of a “macho” and “tough,   
   take-action, hold-your-ground” ethos that appeals to a conservative   
   segment of the country, said Douglas Muzzio, a political science professor   
   at Baruch College.   
      
   Noting that many facts about the chokehold case remain unclear, including   
   what happened before Mr. Penny grabbed Mr. Neely, Mr. Muzzio said, “It   
   doesn’t matter what he did or what he felt or what he believed.”   
      
   The charge against Mr. Penny “occurs in an atmosphere of extreme   
   polarization and racial polarization,” Mr. Muzzio said. “It’s symptomatic   
   of our times — the split between red and blue, the split between Black and   
   white — and it resonates with some deep-seated realities of American   
   politics.”   
      
   Moments before he posted his support of Mr. Penny on Twitter, Mr.   
   DeSantis, during a visit to Peoria, Ill., took a shot at Mr. Bragg —   
   voicing his disdain for prosecutors who are supported by “people like   
   George Soros,” referring to the liberal billionaire and Democratic donor   
   who is a frequent target of right-wing attacks, some of which use veiled   
   antisemitic tropes.   
      
   Jumaane Williams, New York’s public advocate, said Mr. DeSantis’s   
   criticism followed a right-wing playbook to draw political support by   
   spreading fear “regardless of what the facts say.”   
      
   “If the violence can be linked to Black people or people who have   
   melanated skin, they go even harder,” he said.   
      
   The praise of Mr. Penny is “depressing,” said Gabriel Murphy, an engineer   
   who served in the Marines from 2006 to 2010 and who soon after Mr. Neely’s   
   death began a petition calling for charges against Mr. Penny, saying he   
   had misused the chokehold.   
      
   He said people have a picture of the military in their minds. “They’re   
   cheering on that mental picture — that every Marine is a bloodthirsty   
   killer who is waiting to enact righteous violence,” Mr. Murphy said in an   
   interview.   
      
   But Marines are trained to use a chokehold on enemy combatants and to stop   
   using such force once their adversary loses consciousness, he said. A   
   four-minute video that recorded the chokehold showed Mr. Penny hanging on   
   tight to Mr. Neely 50 seconds after he went limp.   
      
   “I don’t think what he did was OK, and I don’t think it’s in line with   
   anything the Marine Corps teaches,” Mr. Murphy said.   
      
   The fund for Mr. Penny’s legal fees was organized by his lawyers,   
   including Thomas Kenniff, who ran as a Republican against Mr. Bragg in   
   2021. Mr. Penny’s lawyers were not immediately available for comment on   
   Sunday.   
      
   One anonymous donor gave $10,000 with a note saying, “thank you for   
   protecting the citizens that day.”   
      
   On Sunday, a fund set up by Mr. Neely’s family to help pay for funeral   
   costs had raised a little more than $116,000.   
      
   Nicholas Nehamas contributed reporting.   
      
   A correction was made on May 14, 2023: An earlier version of this article   
   misstated Kyle Rittenhouse’s age at the time of the shooting in Kenosha,   
   Wis., in which he was charged with murder. He was 17, not 18.   
   When we learn of a mistake, we acknowledge it with a correction. If you   
   spot an error, please let us know at nytnews@nytimes.com.Learn more   
      
   Maria Cramer is a reporter on the Metro desk. Please send her tips,   
   questions and complaints about the New York police and crime at   
   maria.cramer@nytimes.com. @NYTimesCramer   
      
      
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