Daniel Penny, the former U.S. Marine who was acquitted in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely, has been invited to attend the Army-Navy game as the personal guest of Vice President-elect JD Vance.
Penny and Vance will watch the game from Trump’s suite at the Washington Commanders Stadium in Landover, Maryland, on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET. Vance had previously written on social media that he was “grateful” Penny had accepted his invitation and that he hoped Penny would have a good time and be able to appreciate the admiration of his fellow citizens.
Penny was acquitted earlier this week of criminally negligent homicide in the May 2023 incident on a subway train, where he was accused of causing Neely’s death by putting him in a chokehold. The case divided many people along political and racial lines, with some criticizing the prosecution and others calling for justice for Neely’s family.
Prosecutors had accused Penny, who was 24 years old at the time of the incident, of causing Neely’s death, which was ruled a homicide by the city’s medical examiner. Neely had a history of mental illness and was found to have synthetic cannabinoids in his system when he died. The jury was deadlocked last week on the more serious charge of manslaughter, leading the judge to dismiss it.
Penny’s acquittal was met with strong reactions, with Vance stating that he was “thankful” justice was served and that it was a “scandal” that Penny was ever prosecuted.
