NYC Jordan Neely Protest: Journalist Arrested, Molotov Cocktail Seized

NEW YORK CITY — Arrests in the wake of Jordan Neely's chokehold killing last week continued in Manhattan Monday night as 11 people — including a working member of the press — attending a vigil were arrested by police, officials said.

Police claimed that they also found a Molotov cocktail on the ground, but made no arrests in connection to what appears to be a Topo Chico mineral water bottle with refuse stuck in it.

While Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey didn't hesitate to call the bottle a "Molotov cocktail" at a Monday night press conference, he also said that "there's a liquid in there, we don't know what the liquid is yet," adding that it would have to be tested to determine what the true nature of the contents were.

Mayor Adamstold reporters from THE CITY that “agitators that come from outside our city with Molotov cocktails, we should all be concerned about that,” and did not reply to questions about the arrest of a member of the press.

Maddrey said that there are about 150 people at the scene at Houston Street and Broadway Monday night, and that "we respect people's right to protest, we respect their first amendment rights, but we will not tolerate people breaking the law."

Video and reports from those at the scene show a chaotic scene with some protesters covered in blood, evidently after being thrown to the ground face-first by an officer.

Among those arrested was well-known and acclaimed photojournalist Stephanie Keith, a New York City photographer known for her work in the New York Times and the Daily News.

Chief of Patrol John Chell said at Monday's press conference that Keith had interfered with multiple arrests, "so she was placed under arrests." Chell also mentioned that two protesters "assaulted themselves," and that those arrested were charged with obstructing government administration and disorderly conduct.

Video prior to the arrest shows Keith running behind a group of officers to photograph them arresting a man with a cane for standing in the street, according to independent reporter Talia Jane, when suddenly one officers turns to see her and starts shouting "lock her up, lock her up" over a half-dozen times.

“I was trying to photograph what I thought was an arrest but I never even got a chance to see since they grabbed me as soon as I tried to photograph,” Keith told the Daily News, “I said, ‘I’m press’ and they said, ‘You’re not, you’re arrested.’”

“Stephanie Keith is an intrepid photojournalist who was detained this evening while working on a public street alongside numerous other credentialed members of the media,” Bruce Cotler, the president of the New York Press Photographers Association, said in a statement Monday. “We support our colleague, and believe that a review of the evidence and circumstances will compel the Manhattan D.A. to drop any charges against her.”

Another video moments later shows Keith, with her Nikon camera and press pass still around her neck, that she will plan on suing the department.

Just in the last five years, city taxpayers have paid out at least nearly half a billion dollars to settle misconduct lawsuits brought against the NYPD.

Last year, that number jumped by more than 40 percent, with over $121 million paid out in 2022 alone, according to reports and city data.

Multiple reporters pointed out that Keith has been covering the Big Apple for years and that many of the officers at the scene Monday were likely to have known her.

The Daily News reported that Keith was released and given a summons later Monday night.

Monday marked the latest round of protests demanding the arrest of former Marine and West Islip resident Daniel Penny.

Last week, Penny approached Neely, a homeless man and a stranger to Penny, on an F train in Manhattan as Neely was reportedly being disruptive. No witnesses have yet to describe Neely's behavior prior to his death as violent or directly threatening.

Penny then held Neely in a blood chokehold for over 15 minutes as bystanders told him the homeless 30-year-old in his grips had surely turned into a corpse.

Police held Penny briefly but later released him without charges. The DA's office told Patch last week that they were still looking into potential charges and did not reply to a message sent Monday morning.