Daniel Penny, the man acquitted this week of criminally negligent homicide while restraining a threatening passenger on a New York subway, accepted Vice President-elect J.D. Vance’s invitation to the annual rivalry game on Dec. 14 between the U.S. Military Academy and the U.S. Naval Academy.
“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.”
A more serious charge, manslaughter in the second degree, was dismissed by Judge Maxwell Wiley after the jury failed to come to a unanimous verdict.
The homeless man, said Vázquez, “was yelling that he was tired, that he didn’t care about going to jail.” He also threw his jacket on the ground, prompting people around him to move away as “he kept standing there and he kept yelling.” That was when Penny put Neely in a chokehold.
“There’s outbursts on the train all the time,” he said. “Unfortunately, in New York City, there’s always people coming on and saying, kind of, talking crazy, and this was unlike anything that I’ve ever experienced. It was very serious. I completely believed what he was saying.”
Penny expressed no regret for what he did.
“I would not be able to live with myself if I didn’t do anything in that situation and someone got hurt,” he said. “I would feel guilty for the rest of my life.”
The Army-Navy game will be held at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, at 3 p.m. (ET). Navy leads the series, which began in 1890, 62-55-7.
Playing in the American Athletic Conference, Army’s overall record this season is 11–1. The team’s conference record is 8–0.
Navy, which also plays in the conference, enters with an 8–3 overall record and a 6–2 conference record.
