Jordan Neely / Twitter
The alleged F train murder of the volatile homeless Michael Jackson impersonator has been revealed, some Twitter users saying it was a Marine named Daniel Penny. On May 1, around 2:15 p.m., Black homeless man Jordan Neely was strangled to death by Penny on camera in the New York City subway station, inflaming racial tensions.
It was not until May 5 that online users tracked down Penny and sought his accountability, as he had neither been charged with a crime nor initially identified to either the New York Police Department or New York City newspapers that knew his name.
The week-long search for Penny’s identity came to an end when a Twitter user found his old classmates from West Islip High School on Long Island.
The original tweet that broke the story got flagged by Twitter.
Penny, 24, captured on video by a freelance Spanish-speaking journalist, Juan Alberto Vázquez of Luces de Nueva York, was riding the F train at the Broadway-Lafayette Street station when he encountered an erratic Neely, who allegedly threatened passengers who did not offer him assistance.
Witnesses say Neely yelled at other passengers and paced back and forth on the train at the Chelsea station. Most New Yorkers, accustomed to seeing mentally disturbed transit riders, a perennial problem in the city, often ignore situations like this.
“I don’t have food, I don’t have to drink, I’m fed up… i dont mind going to jail and getting life in prison.. I’m ready to die,” Alberto Vázquez wrote on Facebook, according to a loose translation.
The video does not show Neely’s behavior, only the altercation of the white Marine restraining Neely by placing his arm tightly around the homeless man’s neck, and he had the assistance of at least three people to assist him in the chokehold. The people who assisted Penny have yet to have their names revealed, but are visible.
Neely, recognized to some New Yorkers as a Michael Jackson impersonator who frequently performs around the Times Square transportation hub, who had been living with mental health issues stemming from the murder of his mother in 2007, was taken to Lenox Hill Hospital, according to his surviving grandparent, where he was pronounced dead.
On May 3, the medical examiner said Neely died from compression of the neck.
Alberto Vázquez noted that Neely’s murder reminded him of George Floyd’s.
“A young man with brown hair and gray shawl grabbed him by the neck and laid him on the floor as he tied him with his legs. They were in that position for about 15 minutes while other passengers and the train operator called the police (as heard in the video),” a Spanish to English translation from the witness explained. “The Uniforms, btw, never arrived. As the now captive struggled to escape the key, other Samaritans stepped in to aid the warrior and prevent the other from escaping. One of them, who had recently tackled with a woman, seemed to mediate between the two fighting on the floor.”
The video of Neely’s execution has sparked a debate about vigilantism and racial injustice, with some saying that Neely, who was revealed to have a criminal background with 44 prior arrests, had to be stopped and that his death was inconvenient and no one’s direct fault.
Social justice advocates in New York and Twitter alike, however, rallied behind Neely, saying he needed help, not punishment, and that racial animosity and bias against homeless Black men contributed to his death. Some were also quick to point out how a white Marine could kill someone in public and not face initial charges, which the NYPD claims the decision was made by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Protesters staged a planned protest on May 4.
Even though Neely’s death was ruled a homicide, it does not mean his case will be prosecuted as a homicide, and the final decision will be determined by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which is investigating the case.
According to his LinkedIn profile, photos, and videos of him playing lacrosse in high school, Penny enlisted in the Marines in 2017 after graduating from West Islip High. Insider received confirmation from the Marine Corps that he served as an infantryman and was promoted to the rank of sergeant. Penny’s LinkedIn profile matches the Marine Corps’ statement that his last assignment was at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
Although Penny’s identity was revealed by Twitter, some curious users believed that media outlets, especially local tabloids like the New York Post, Daily Mail, and the New York Daily News, were hiding his name and giving favorable coverage to the active duty Marine.
One example is The Daily Mail, which had its website mistakenly included the assailant’s last name in a caption, and a new article was published on May 5 after it was publicly revealed that Penny was the assailant.
With the veteran’s name out, mainstream media outlets like the Post are confirming information they already had, reiterating that Penny has not been charged and that the case is under investigation.