Republican Presidential Candidates Line up to Support Daniel Penny

Republican Presidential Candidates Line up to Support Daniel Penny

Daniel Penny gets the Kyle Rittenhouse treatment as Republican presidential candidates line up in support of the man who choked Jordan Neely to death on the NYC subway

Daniel Penny arrives at a New York City Police precinct. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

• Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, and other Republicans are rallying around Daniel Penny.
• Prosecutors charged Penny with manslaughter after he killed Jordan Neely on the New York subway in April.
• Support for Penny is reminiscent of support given to Kyle Rittenhouse ahead of the 2020 election.

Some conservatives love a mascot for vigilante justice, and they seem to have found their newest poster boy in Daniel Penny. 

Republican 2024 presidential candidates are lining up in support of Penny, a 24-year-old retired Marine who placed Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man, in a chokehold on the New York City subway that ultimately killed him. The Manhattan district attorney's office charged Penny with manslaughter on May 12 after a medical examiner ruled Neely's death a homicide. 

Lawyers for Penny said he was acting in self-defense and "could not have foreseen" Neely's "untimely death." Witnesses to the incident said while Neely was agitated, he never touched anyone on the train. 

A former prosecutor called the killing an example of the kind of "vigilante justice" plaguing the United States.

Republicans are calling it an act of "bravery."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to announce his 2024 candidacy next week, urged his followers to donate to Penny's legal fundraiser to show him that "America's got his back." That fundraiser, set up by Penny's attorneys, has now surpassed $2.6 million. Notes of support say Penny's "bravery should be rewarded."

Former UN Ambassador and GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley echoed those thoughts, calling for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to pardon Penny. Another candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, donated $10,000 to Penny's fundraiser, The Associated Press reported.

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, for his part, said Penny "was in great danger and the other people in the car were in great danger," according to The Associated Press. 

The support for Penny is reminiscent of the support given to Kyle Rittenhouse ahead of the 2020 election. The right-wing propelled Rittenhouse — who was acquitted of all criminal charges after he killed two people in Kenosha, Wisconsin amid civil unrest in 2020 — to stardom, earning invites to speak on Fox News and major conservative conferences.