Florida’s Governor initially fumed about a miscarriage of justice against a subway vigilante in New York, but Monday’s verdict gave him new faith in the jurors of the Empire State.
“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,” Gov. Ron DeSantis posted to X.
A man on a New York subway named Jordan Neely died after Marine veteran Daniel Penny subdued him in May 2023, but the jury exonerated Penny of the charge of criminally negligent homicide after deadlocking on a charge of manslaughter that ultimately was dropped.
DeSantis defended Penny in multiple appearances last year amid the beginning of his presidential campaign, saying the “good Samaritan” acted in self-defense and was being railroaded.
“We must defeat the Soros-Funded DAs, stop the Left’s pro-criminal agenda, and take back the streets for law abiding citizens. We stand with Good Samaritans like Daniel Penny. Let’s show this Marine … America’s got his back,” DeSantis posted on social media.
Critics accused DeSantis of defending a lynching of a Black man, but DeSantis doubled down, saying “vets look out for other vets.”
“What we can’t have in our society is inmates running the asylum,” DeSantis added. “And what you saw on the subway was, you saw a guy that was very dangerous. (Neely) was putting people in harm’s way. He was boasting that he may do harm.”
DeSantis, a former Navy JAG lawyer and federal prosecutor, also offered commentary Monday on the hapless prosecuting office that brought the ultimately failed case, asking “is there a worse prosecutor in America than Alvin Bragg?”
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