Republicans Move to ‘Recognize and Honor’ Marine Vet Charged in Death of Homeless Man

Daniel Penny is walked by police detectives out of the 5th Precinct in New York on May 12, 2023. Jeenah Moon/AP Photo

A House resolution aims to correct the record of what occurred earlier this month when U.S. Marine veteran Daniel Penny placed a homeless man, Jordan Neely, in a fatal chokehold on a New York subway train.

Neely’s May 1 death—ruled a homicide by the medical examiner’s office—sparked protests across the city and ultimately resulted in Penny being charged with manslaughter by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

However, according to a resolution (pdf) introduced May 26 by Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), the 24-year-old veteran deserves to be commended for his actions, not convicted.

Specifically, the resolution “recognizes and honors” Penny for his “heroism and courage in apprehending a threat to public safety.”

According to witness reports, Neely—a 30-year-old black man with a history of mental illness—was acting erratically on the train that day, frightening other passengers with statements like, “I’m ready to go back to jail,” and “I’ll hurt anyone on this train.”

Penny’s attorneys have argued that he was acting in self-defense when he restrained Neely, and that no harm was intended by the maneuver, which he learned in the Marines.

In a statement emailed to The Epoch Times, Ogles decried the charges against Penny as a “disgusting abuse of power” by Bragg and an “egregious assault on our justice system.”

“On May 1, Daniel Penny took action to protect himself and innocent commuters on the F Train from an out-of-control individual,” the congressman noted. “DA Bragg and the mainstream media were quick to jump to the defense of Jordan Neely, who had a record of 42 arrests, including three assaults on women riding the New York subway. Instead of joining in with the full-throttled woke mob in unjustly demonizing Mr. Penny, I introduced a resolution to recognize and honor him for his heroism and courage.”

Bragg is the same district attorney who is prosecuting former President Donald Trump on falsification of business records charges.

Other Republicans have spoken out in support of Penny as well, like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).

On May 6, as protesters swarmed the New York subway to decry Neely’s death, Greene took to Twitter to defend his actions.

“The Marine who stepped in to protect others is a hero,” she wrote. “The left always chooses career violent criminals and/or drug addicts as their heroes & martyrs, and communists anarchist like AOC blow the dog whistle. Jordan Neely was a violent criminal who should have been behind bars.”

Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy asserted that Neely’s death was a direct result of government officials’ “reckless abandonment” of respect for the law.

The former subway performer, he noted, would still be alive “behind bars or else in a mental health institution if New York City’s police had actually been allowed to do their jobs.”

He added: “When the chief agency in charge of enforcing the federal law, the FBI, itself abandons the rule of law, then how can we possibly expect anyone else in the country to abide by the rule of law either?”

Ogles’ resolution—backed by Reps. Greene, Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.), Greg Steube (R-Fla.), and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.)—has been referred to the House Oversight and Accountability Committee for consideration.