JD Vance, the newly elected vice president, just announced that Daniel Penny, the Marine Corps vet who dodged homicide charges, will be his special guest at the Army-Navy football game this Saturday in Maryland.
Penny will be kicking it in a suite with president-elect Donald Trump and other key players from Trump’s upcoming administration, including Pete Hegseth, the nominee for Secretary of Defense.
“Daniel’s a good guy, and New York’s mob district attorney tried to ruin his life for having a backbone. I’m grateful he accepted my invitation and hope he’s able to have fun and appreciate how much his fellow citizens admire his courage,” Vance said on X.
This invite comes right after Penny was found not guilty by a New York jury earlier this week for the 2023 death of Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man with a tough past, battling mental health issues and medical challenges. Medical testimony revealed Neely had sickle cell trait, a genetic condition that can mess with blood oxygen levels under stress, which Penny’s defense argued played a role in the tragic outcome.
RELATED: Update: Manhattan Grand Jury Indicts Daniel Penny In Chokehold Death Of Jordan Neely
The incident sparked heated debates nationwide after Penny put Neely in a chokehold on a subway train in NYC back in May 2023. Witnesses said Neely was acting erratic, with one passenger, Juan Alberto Vazquez, telling NBC News that Neely was making aggressive comments and didn’t seem to care about the consequences of his actions. This will be Penny’s first public appearance since the verdict, and it’s a big deal with strong military connections. Vance has been vocal in his support for Penny, calling the prosecution a “scandal” and applauding the jury’s verdict.
In a recent interview with Fox News, Penny stood firm, saying he felt threatened during the incident and worried about the safety of himself and other passengers, insisting he was in a “vulnerable position.”
