New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino is calling for a federal civil rights investigation into the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, following the acquittal of Marine veteran Daniel Penny in a high-profile subway chokehold case. Paladino, a Republican, has been a vocal supporter of Penny, who was charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the death of a 30-year-old homeless man on a New York City subway.
Paladino told Fox & Friends First on Tuesday that she believes DA Alvin Bragg’s charges were motivated by politics and that the case was “a vendetta” against Penny. She cited Bragg’s policies, which she claims have been driven by a “racial agenda,” and accused him of “pursuing” cases to advance his own political goals.
The acquittal drew outrage from Black Lives Matter activists, who protested the outcome, with Paladino suggesting that the jury’s decision was influenced by outside pressure. Bragg’s office responded to the verdict, saying they respected the jury’s decision and condemned the hate and threats directed against prosecutors and their families during the trial.
Paladino’s comments were echoed by Maud Maron, a Republican vying to unseat Bragg, who criticized the DA’s handling of the case, saying it would be his “legacy” and that he “tried to prosecute a young man who has no criminal record, who had served his country honorably and who did what many people in the subways would hope, which is to be a brave young man and step up and try to protect people on the subway.”