Marine Veteran Celebrates Acquittal at Army-Navy Game with President-Elect Trump
Marine veteran Daniel Penny celebrated his recent acquittal for manslaughter inside a historic college football game suite at the 125th Army-Navy game in Maryland. Penny was found not guilty in the subway chokehold death of homeless man Jordan Neely. The suite was also hosted by President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance, who were joined by several other notable guests, including Elon Musk, Tulsi Gabbard, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Trump’s FBI director pick Kash Patel.
Photos of Penny posing alongside Trump and Vance in the suite went viral, prompting waves of praise for the Marine veteran from social media users. Cryptocurrency influencer Tiffany Fong praised Penny as a hero, while conservative X influencer and podcast host Nick Sortor called for Penny to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., shared a photo with the caption “Common sense reigns again!”
Penny’s acquittal came after he was charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide for the subway chokehold death of Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man with schizophrenia who barged onto the train shouting death threats. Witnesses testified that Neely’s threats scared them more than a typical subway outburst would, and they were thankful for Penny’s intervention.
The verdict prompted an angry response from Neely’s side, including his father, Andre Zachary, who was escorted out of the courthouse along with several Black Lives Matter leaders. Penny thanked the jurors for their verdict in an interview with Fox News, saying he would take action again if he faced the same situation on the subway with someone making threats and acting erratically.
Penny still faces a lawsuit from Zachary, who accuses the Marine veteran of causing his son’s death through “negligence, carelessness and recklessness.” Zachary is seeking unspecified damages for assault and battery.
