For those who follow crime in cities like New York or Chicago, this didn’t come as a surprise. But Daniel Penny, the former Marine who took on the deranged homeless man Jordan Neely on an NYC subway, was indicted by a grand jury for the death of Neely.

The office of Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg had charged Penny with second-degree manslaughter, but needed a grand jury to approve. So on Wednesday, the Soros-funded DA got his wish. However, at this point there is no information on whether or not the grand jury indicted him on that charge, or possibly another. We will learn more as Penny goes to trial.

The facts of the case are these: on May 1, Jordan Neely, a mentally ill homeless man, and Daniel Penny encountered each other on a NY subway. According to witnesses, Neely began shouting at the other passengers, threatening to kill them. That’s when Penny, with the help of two others, restrained Neely in what the press calls a “chokehold.” Neely died afterwards. Two days later the medical examiner ruled it a homicide.

Of course there was a video; there’s always someone recording drama on their phone. The video of the event went viral, leading to protests at subway stations, including some halfwits who got in front of a train. Someone brought a Molotov cocktail to the festivities, too. Meanwhile, NYPD arrested ten protestors.

On May 19, mourners bid farewell to Jordan Neely in a funeral in which the Rev. Al Sharpton gave the eulogy — not because he was Neely’s pastor, but because wherever there’s an opportunity to race-bait, Al will be there.

Of course, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wasted no time in giving her opinion, either. In a softball interview with The Cut, she came up with this nugget of wisdom:

I would like everyone to pretend that was their son.

Well, Toots, Ted Bundy was someone’s son, too.

Daniel Penny is Also Someone’s Son

Daniel Penny, the former Marine who will now go to trial for Neely’s death, is also someone’s son. And if he were my son, I’d be proud of him. Terrified of what could happen, of course. But still proud of my hero son.

Apparently others appreciate him, too. Although NYC officials — including Bragg, one assumes — not so much.

Screenshot: @Make70sGreat/Twitter.

Daniel Penny didn’t go into the situation like a blond, curly-haired Rambo, however. Instead, he admitted, “I was scared:”

Between stops, you’re trapped on the train, and there’s nowhere to go. You can try to move away, but you can only do so much on a packed car. I was scared. I looked around, and I saw older women and children, and they were terrified.

The three main threats that he repeated over and over again were I’m going to kill you, I’m prepared to go to jail for life, and I’m willing to die. 

But then Penny’s Marine training kicked in:

There’s a common misconception that Marines don’t get scared. We’re actually taught one of our core values is courage, and courage is not the absence of fear but how you handle fear. I was scared for myself, but I looked around there was women and children, he was yelling in their faces saying these threats. I just couldn’t sit still.

Daniel Penny isn’t a merciless killer. He’s a hero.

Daniel Penny is a hero.pic.twitter.com/3EYtithrac

— Michael Knowles (@michaeljknowles) June 12, 2023

There Will Be Consequences if Penny is Convicted

Let’s review how dangerous a person Jordan Neely was.

For example, he was on a “Top 50” list kept by NYC of homeless people most in of assistance. An employee of a nonprofit organization that does subway outreach for the city told the New York Times that Neely had been hospitalized multiple times, both voluntarily and involuntarily. He used drugs, and his uncle reported that one was K2, a synthetic cannabinoid that can alter a person’s mental state. Meanwhile, his aunt claimed that doctors didn’t provide him with adequate treatment. Neely would promise to take his prescribed medication and avoid illegal drugs, but he never followed through.

Neely also had a lengthy criminal record — mostly turnstile-jumping, but he committed more serious crimes, too. In 2021, he socked a 67-year-old woman in the head at a subway station, leaving her with a broken nose and a fractured orbital bone. One month prior to that he hit a man so hard in the face that he broke the man’s nose. Neely also exposed himself to a female stranger.

Was Jordan Neely a menace to New York City residents he encountered? You bet he was. Did he place the other subway riders in danger on the train on which Daniel Penny was riding? Yes, most likely, considering his history. In fact, two weeks before Neely’s death, an outreach worker who saw him incoherently and aggressively wandering Coney Island wrote: He could be a harm to others or himself if left untreated. 

But what will happen if a jury throws the book at Daniel Penny?

New York City does not require bystanders to act if someone is in danger. So if Penny is convicted, and perhaps sent to prison, that will put a chill on any other brave souls who see danger and want to respond. They won’t be saving the lives of innocent people; they’ll be saving their own hides from potential prosecution. And who can blame them?

I’m old enough to remember when TV programs and movies always showed the hero stepping up to save others from a dangerous evildoer. The hero (always a man!) would without fail vanquish the evil and win in the end.

Daniel Penny was that hero on the F train in NYC on May 1. But if he goes to prison, he may be the last of the city’s old school heroes. And New York subways will become even more dangerous than they already are.

Featured image: Steven Pisano/flickr/cropped/CC BY 2.0.