Marine veteran Daniel Penny was acquitted on Monday in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely, a homeless subway rider, sparking a wave of outrage from liberal commentators on social media.

A Manhattan jury found Penny not guilty of criminally negligent homicide, a charge carrying a maximum sentence of four years. Last week, Judge Maxwell Wiley dismissed the more severe second-degree manslaughter charge, which carried a potential 15-year sentence, after jurors reported being deadlocked on the issue.

The case stemmed from a May 2023 incident where Penny, a 26-year-old Marine veteran and architecture student, placed Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man with schizophrenia, in a chokehold on a Manhattan subway car. Neely, who had an active arrest warrant and was reportedly high on synthetic marijuana (K2), had entered the train shouting death threats. Penny’s defense argued he acted to protect other passengers, while prosecutors claimed his actions were excessive and caused Neely’s death.

I have not said much about this case out of fear of (negatively) influencing the jury.

But thank God justice was done in this case. It was a scandal Penny was ever prosecuted in the first place. https://t.co/r2Qa2IuR7i

— JD Vance (@JDVance) December 9, 2024

The verdict reignited fierce debate over issues of public safety, mental illness, and homelessness in New York City. Left wing commentators quickly took to social media, alleging the decision was driven by systemic racism and bias against the poor and homeless.

“Imagine, just imagine, if Jordan Neely had been White and Daniel Penny was Black. Imagine what some of the folks defending Penny today would be saying. Just imagine,” former MSNBC anchor Mehdi Hasan wrote.

Tiffany Cabán, an NYC council member, accused the system of perpetuating injustice. “Everything that led up to and followed the lynching of Jordan Neely on a New York City subway train by Daniel Penny could have and should have been prevented,” she wrote on Bluesky. “Jordan Neely deserved better than the violence of being denied access to stable housing and health care, and then dehumanized for it.”

Jordan Neely deserved better than the violence of being denied access to stable housing and health care, and then dehumanized for it. 

Jordan Neely deserved better than the systems that allow for, and justify, extrajudicial white supremacist violence against Black people.

— Tiffany Cabán (@tiffany_caban) December 9, 2024

Actress and activist Mia Farrow also criticized the ruling. “Jordan Neely was 30-yrs old- struggling w mental illness, drug addiction & homelessness. He performed in NYC subways Danial Perry [sic] choked Mr Neely to death. A judge—not a jury—determined that Penny was not guilty of anything. I don’t understand,” she wrote, noting Penny’s race in comparison to Neely’s.

Other commentators were equally outspoken. Jack Mirkinson of The Nation lamented, “A confirmation, not that one was really needed, that our society does not see homeless people as human beings.”

“Daniel Penny is a racist, classist, ableist murderer. He should face ignominy forever regardless of what a court does or doesn’t do to him,” Tim Wise, senior fellow at the African American Policy Forum, posted on X. His post drew over 4 million views after the manslaughter charge was dropped.

Daniel Penny and his attorneys have a victory drink after Daniel Penny was acquitted of all charges.

(Repost ) pic.twitter.com/YQ355amcfy

— Viral News NYC (@ViralNewsNYC) December 9, 2024

Brooklyn Dad Defiant, a prominent social media account, added, “I am sick to my stomach at the sheer jubilation over on Twitter right now that Daniel Penny got away with murdering Jordan Neely, an unhoused Black man with mental issues. It’s disgusting.”