Gov. Ron DeSantis is doubling down on his defense of a “good Samaritan” who choked out an erratic subway performer in New York City.
“Vets look out for other vets,” DeSantis said in his latest defense of Daniel Penny.
“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. He was putting people in harm’s way. He was boasting that he may do harm.”
Penny choked out Jordan Neely on a New York City subway May 1. He faces a manslaughter charge after killing Neely in the wake of threats to passengers. Many have defended Penny for initially subduing Neely, but plenty have criticized Penny for keeping him in a chokehold for several minutes, after he no longer posed a threat.
On Tuesday, DeSantis redoubled his claim, first made over the weekend, that Penny took the man’s life only because he was trying to keep others safe.
“And I think to be able to step in as a good Samaritan and protect people, I think that that’s something that was the right thing to do, and I don’t think he should be prosecuted. I think you have a prosecutor there that sides with the criminal element over law abiding citizens. And when people have the temerity to fight back against the criminal element, he goes after them,” DeSantis said.
The Governor was an early booster of Penny’s legal defense fund on GiveSendGo, which is now approaching $2.5 million. The right-wing alternative to GoFundMe is billed as the “#1 Christian fundraising site.”
“And so hopefully with him raising all this money, he’s going to be able to beat this case,” DeSantis said. “I hope the charges are dropped. But if they’re not, I think he’s going to be able to win in the end.”
The Governor spotlighted Penny’s case on Twitter Friday, urging followers to “show this Marine … America’s got his back.” Despite taking criticism from many for purportedly perverting the parable of the good Samaritan, Florida’s Governor is standing his ground.
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