On Monday, a Manhattan jury found Penny not guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely. Last year, the 30-year-old street performer who struggled with homelessness, mental illness, and drugs was yelling at riders in the subway car that he was hungry, thirsty, and didn't care if he died before Penny placed in him a chokehold for nearly six minutes on the train floor.
After Neely was pronounced dead at the scene, Penny, who is a former Marine, said he was protecting passengers.
Just minutes after news broke about Penny's acquittal, the Florida governor needed to provide his two cents in true DeSantis fashion by firing shots at Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the district attorney who prosecuted President-elect Donald Trump in the criminal hush money trial.
"The acquittal of Daniel Penny is clearly the just and correct verdict," DeSantis wrote on X. "I must admit I was skeptical that a jury in New York City would reach a unanimous not guilty verdict, and the jury deserves credit for doing the right thing. Meanwhile, is there a worse prosecutor in America than Alvin Bragg?'
He followed his tweet with another post later last night inviting Penny to Florida to "get his life back."
You are likely experiencing déjà vu while reading this. A quick trip down memory lane finds DeSantis defending another vigilante: Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old who shot three men — killing two of them — with an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle at a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, over the police the shooting of Jacob Blake.The acquittal of Daniel Penny is clearly the just and correct verdict. I must admit I was skeptical that a jury in New York City would reach a unanimous not guilty verdict, and the jury deserves credit for doing the right thing.
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) December 9, 2024
Meanwhile, is there a worse prosecutor in America… https://t.co/fVJJQTQQqV
Days before Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges, including homicide, DeSantis sent a fundraising email blast in support of Rittenhouse and that the media lied about the incident.
"He saw Kenosha on fire as a result of media-fueled rioting and did what we should want citizens to do in such a situation: step forward to defend the community against mob violence," his email read. "In spite of the facts, corporate media, Big Tech, and the Democratic Party baselessly smeared Kyle as a 'white supremacist' and 'domestic terrorist' and then practically convicted him of murder in the court of public opinion."
Like DeSantis, Florida's Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, who is running to replace former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, is encouraging Penny to the
Florida's history of vigilantism goes back to 2016, when neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman gunned down 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
"In Florida, Daniel Penny would be considered a hero," Patronis wrote. "In New York, he's lucky to get his freedom back. If anyone knows Daniel, let him know next time he's around the Florida Panhandle, lunch is on me."In Florida, Daniel Penny would be considered a hero. In New York, he’s lucky to get his freedom back. If anyone knows Daniel, let him know next time he’s around the Florida Panhandle, lunch is on me.
— Jimmy Patronis (@JimmyPatronis) December 10, 2024
