FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) 鈥� , a military veteran who choked an agitated New York subway rider and was acquitted of homicide this week, has been invited by Vice President-elect JD Vance to join Donald Trump's suite at the Army-Navy football game on Saturday.
The Marine veteran was cleared of criminally negligent homicide in 鈥檚 2023 death. A more serious manslaughter charge was dismissed last week.
Vance said Penny, 26, accepted his invitation.
鈥淒aniel鈥檚 a good guy, and New York鈥檚 mob district attorney tried to ruin his life for having a backbone,鈥� Vance said in a post on X. 鈥淚鈥檓 grateful he accepted my invitation and hope he鈥檚 able to have fun and appreciate how much his fellow citizens admire his courage.鈥�
Vance, who served in the Marine Corps, including in Iraq, said this week that "justice was done in this case鈥� and Penny never should have been prosecuted.
Penny has been hailed a hero by many, but Neely's death also divided the city as residents grapple with how to respond to mental health crises threatening public safety.
Passengers said Neely hadn鈥檛 touched anyone but had expressed willingness to die, go to jail or even to kill. The former street performer was homeless, had schizophrenia and had synthetic marijuana in his system. He had been convicted of assaulting people at subway stations.
Adriana Gomez Licon, The Associated Press
