Daniel Penny Will Join Trump's Suite At Football Game After Acquittal

NEW YORK CITY — Daniel Penny, a Marine veteran who was acquitted of criminally negligent homicide on Monday in the death of Jordan Neely inside a New York City subway car, will be Vice President-elect JD Vance's guest at the Army-Navy football game this weekend.

Penny will join Vance and President-elect Donald Trump at the game on Saturday.

“Daniel’s a good guy, and New York’s mob district attorney tried to ruin his life for having a backbone,” Vance said in a post on X. “I’m grateful he accepted my invitation and hope he’s able to have fun and appreciate how much his fellow citizens admire his courage.”

On Monday, a 12-person jury decided that Penny's actions were not criminal in nature.

A Manhattan judge last Friday agreed to drop the manslaughter charge against Penny, Patch previously reported.

The judge's decision comes after jurors twice couldn't come to a verdict on the manslaughter charge, according to multiple media reports.

Penny's defense lawyers have argued that Neely had been shouting and demanding money before the marine veteran intervened, Patch previously reported.

Prosecutors were attempting to prove that Penny's actions were "reckless" and "negligent."

Fatal Incident Inside Subway Car

On May 1, 2023, on a northbound F train headed toward the Broadway-Lafayette station, Penny brought Neely down with the assistance of two other passengers and then proceeded to put him in a chokehold for 6 minutes.

Neely had struggled with homelessness and mental illness, and according to witnesses had been acting in a aggressive manner before the fatal incident.

The medical examiner's office ruled Neely's death a homicide. Penny's lawyers have said that the marine veteran didn't intend to kill Neely but was holding him down long enough for police to arrive.

The fatal 2023 incident sparked nearly two weeks of protests before Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office brought an indictment, according to multiple media reports.