Marine Corps veteran Daniel Penny is facing up to 15 years in prison for subduing Jordan Neely in a New York City subway. Representative Eli Crane (R-AZ) recently wrote a letter to NYC District Attorney Alvin Bragg demanding he drop the charges against Penny, saying, "As the Left continues to push the defund the police movement, it is imperative that you do not condemn and persecute Good Samaritans who are stopping criminals."
In May 2023, Jordan Neely entered the New York City subway and began threatening passengers. Neely was known to police with 42 prior arrests and had a history of mental illness. Penny approached Neely from behind and placed him in a chokehold for six minutes, after which Neely died.
As a result, Penny was charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.
"Rather than arraign a U.S. veteran for manslaughter, you should be praising him as a Good Samaritan," Rep. Crane wrote to Bragg, calling the charges against Penny "immoral."
Additionally, Rep. Crane blasted Bragg as "soft on crime," allowing criminals off easy, and thus "Americans such as Daniel Penny are having to protect themselves and others now more than ever in the face of rising crime."
"To make matters worse," Crane continued, "anti-police policies and rhetoric have contributed to historic increases in resignations from police forces and creating recruiting challenges. New York City has been no stranger to this."
In November, NYC Mayor Eric Adams unveiled a new city budget that cut funding to NYPD training as the Big Apple deals with the migrant crisis, suggesting there will only be 29,000 officers for the entirety of the city by 2025.
Crane did not let up in his letter, accusing Bragg of using "taxpayer resources to abuse your prosecutorial authority to score political points," referencing the indictment of former President Donald Trump at the end of March for supposed hush money payments to adult actress Stormy Daniels in addition to the Penny case.
"As the Left continues to push the defund the police movement, it is imperative that you do not condemn and persecute Good Samaritans who are stopping criminals," Crane concluded.
Representatives Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ) are among the letter's signatories.
