NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — The white 24-year-old man who allegedly choked a Black homeless man to death on a Manhattan F train on Monday was identified Friday as Daniel Penny.
Penny put Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old Michael Jackson impersonator who was acting erratically, in a chokehold until he lost consciousness on Monday. New York medical examiners confirmed that Neely died from compression of the neck and deemed his death a homicide on Wednesday.
Neely was yelling at riders that he didn't have any food when he was attacked, but he had not assaulted anyone, according to witnesses.
Police initially arrested Penny, but released him without filing any charges.
Several news outlets tracked down and interviewed Penny after the killing, but refused to publish his name.
An online activist first publicly identified Penny on Thursday. On Friday, the Daily Mail confirmed his identity through a Marine Corps spokesperson and Insider confirmed his identity through law enforcement.
The former marine lives in West Babylon, New York, according to public records. He is registered to vote as a member of the New York Conservative Party.
The Conservative Party usually endorses Republican candidates instead of nominating their own politicians, though the party sometimes withholds support from candidates they deem not right wing enough.
Voting records also revealed Penny held an address at Camp Lejeune, a marine base in North Carolina, in 2021.
The killing sparked protests demanding Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg file charges against Penny.
Demonstrators gathered at Barclays Center and marched over the Manhattan bridge on Thursday night.
Protesters gathered outside Bragg’s Manhattan office around noon on Friday to call for charges.
More protests are scheduled at Washington Square Park at 6 p.m. on Friday and on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Broadway-Lafayette subway station, where Neely was killed.
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