Daniel Penny is a free man as of Monday, and that is an unmitigated good thing. He never should have been through this ordeal in the first place, but he was, and at least the jury saw fit to acquit him. I feel certain that Daniel will be haunted by this episode for the rest of his life; his actions against Jordan Neely were a necessary reaction to Neely's unhinged, threatening behavior, but Daniel certainly didn't intend for Neely to die, only that he be restrained, and for that New York put this hero through an unfair and unjust ordeal.
The trial is over now. Daniel Penny can move on with his life. Earlier on Monday, my friend and colleague Bob Hoge gave us the details of the acquittal:
Previously on RedState: JUSTICE SERVED: Daniel Penny Jurors Reach Their Verdict
Bob writes:
This verdict sends a message to George Soros-backed prosecutors across the country—Americans are tired of living in fear as criminals walk free and heroes sit in courtrooms. It’s a rare occasion that we can say, “Good job, New York jury!”
Enjoy your life as a free man, Daniel Penny. You deserve it.
Hear, hear!
As for the fact that this should never have happened in the first place, I'm not alone in that assessment; an actual attorney, Andrew McCarthy, has already spoken to that, and my colleague Mike Miller has that story:
See Related: 'Mockery of Justice': Andrew McCarthy Blasts Trial of Subway Hero Daniel Penny, Calls It a Travesty
Mike writes:
Attorney and National Review columnist Andrew McCarthy blasted the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley in a Sunday op-ed, accusing both of intentionally making the trial a mockery of justice.
It is a travesty that Marine veteran Daniel Penny was charged with two homicide counts by Manhattan’s elected progressive-Democratic district attorney, Alvin Bragg, over the death of Jordan Neely – who was menacing frightened subway passengers when Penny subdued him.
How fitting, then, that the conclusion of the jury trial, which began eight weeks ago, is proving to be as much a mockery of justice as the rest of the proceedings have been.
Tragic as this case was, unnecessary as these charges were, and as damaging to Daniel Penny as this ordeal was, all of these things are, at least, thankfully behind us. As I noted above, Daniel Penny can now get on with his life, and the nation can take some comfort in knowing justice was done.
Or can he? Can we?
It may not be over yet for Daniel Penny. Jordan Neely's father, Andre Zachary, who wasn't there for his son when that son was ranting and threatening passengers on a New York City subway, is nevertheless there when there is publicity to be had; he is suing Daniel Penny for an undisclosed amount in damages; we can assume the worst. In a sane system, Daniel Penny's acquittal would preclude any finding in favor of Mr. Zachary — yes, father and son do not share a last name, and you may infer for yourselves what that implies for Zachary as a Father of the Year candidate. Since a civil trial relies not on "beyond a reasonable doubt" but rather a "preponderance of evidence," there is yet the chance that, with just a bit of venue shopping, Daniel Penny may escape incarceration only to be ruined financially.
But it may well get worse. It may get much worse. My colleague Rusty Weiss has that news:
Previously on RedState: WATCH: BLM Activist Suggests 'Black Vigilantes' Choke, Kill People in Response to Daniel Penny Acquittal
As Rusty informs us:
Hawk Newsome, who has been described as a co-founder of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York, explicitly called for vigilante violence following news of the acquittal of Marine veteran and subway hero Daniel Penny.'
Newsome did precisely that — publically.
Hawk Newsome, founder of BLM of Greater NY, calls on "black vigilantes" to respond to the Penny verdict by choking and killing white people.
— Rusty (@Rusty_Weiss) December 9, 2024
“People want to jump up and choke us and kill us for being loud. How about we do the same when they attempt to oppress us?” pic.twitter.com/0jVhZuCDBh
Hawk Newsome belongs to the Black Lives Matter movement, which was a big part of the 2020 "Summer of Love" protests that quickly became riots and even actual insurrection; yes, really, a portion of the city of Seattle, including a police station, was seized and held by a mob led by a group of armed thugs, who denied access to duly designated authorities. That's the very definition of insurrection, although nobody was charged under the Insurrection Act.
Could this happen again? It's not at all unlikely. Hawk Newsome is openly advocating for just this. There are people who will listen to him. The summer of 2020 presents a compelling example of what may happen, including over $2 billion in property damage, monuments and government buildings vandalized and defaced, and law enforcement morale cratering.
The winter of 2024-2025 may remind us of the old adage, plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose (the more things change, the more they stay the same.) Our cities are, again, woefully unprepared. What's worse is that some of our municipal leaders are unwilling to interfere. And while winter isn't the traditional time for rioting, especially in the northern states, the instigators may not want to wait until summer, when they will be dealing with Trump II, the Return of Trump, who, granted, didn't do all he could in 2020 — but he may well have learned from that and, in his lame-duck second term, may be more willing to take the gloves off.
Will it happen? The next few weeks, perhaps the next few days, will tell the tale.
Climate change or no climate change, we may well be looking at a long, hot summer.
