U.S. Marine veteran Daniel Penny, 24, facing a manslaughter charge in the death of Jordan Neely, was released on $100,000 bond and his friends and family are expressing outrage at the charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Penny's GiveSendGo crowdfunding campaign has already raised $1,573,626.
"It's disgusting," cousin Justine Baldwin told the New York Post, calling Penny a "handsome, fun kid who could always be counted on when you needed help and "a young man who served our country."
"He was always there for his family and his sisters, especially," Baldwin added. "Danny has always been calm. He comes from a calm family."
Penny was intending to be a good Samaritan, subduing an unruly Neely on a New York City subway with a chokehold May 1. Neely, a Michael Jackson impersonator in the city, was reportedly taunting and screaming at passengers before being subdued.
After tapping out of the chokehold, Neely was taken to the hospital for treatment — where he later died.
Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, a harsh critic of New York City's crime problems and its George Soros-backed prosecutors like Bragg, came out with fulsome support for Penny, sharing his GiveSendGo campaign.
"We must defeat the Soros-Funded DAs, stop the left's pro-criminal agenda, and take back the streets for law-abiding citizens," DeSantis tweeted after Penny was freed Friday pending trial. "We stand with Good Samaritans like Daniel Penny. Let's show this Marine ... America's got his back."
Neely, who has a history of mental illness and was homeless, had been arrested multiple times and had recently pleaded guilty for assaulting a 67-year-old woman leaving a subway station in 2021. Sources told the Post Neely had a warrant out for his arrest.
Penny grew up in a middle-class Long Island family, a high school lacrosse player and a Marine veteran who served two deployments over four years of service.
"Danny was always fun and goofy and never harmed anyone," Penny's childhood friend Devin Marino told the Post. "He was always superinclusive.
"His family was really nice and had an open door policy."
A judge authorized Penny's release on $100,000 bond and ordered him to surrender his passport and not to leave New York without approval. Prosecutors said they are seeking a grand jury indictment. Penny is due back in court July 17.
"Danny was a nice kid, a lovely kid," Marcia Mulcahy, a former Penny neighbor, told the Post. "The family could not have been nicer.
"Just look at the [fundraiser] to see how people feel about him. We're all contributing to it. He was just trying to help on the subway. It was obviously a scary situation, and it all went wrong. But he didn't go in there trying to hurt anyone. He was trying to help."