JD Vance Invites Acquitted Former Marine, Daniel Penny, To Be His Personal Guest At This Weekend’s Army-Navy Game

It's been quite the week for Daniel Penny. The former Marine was acquitted this week in a New York City court after being charged with second degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the death of Jordan Neely last year. Neely, a homeless man who often performed in the subway dressed as a Michael Jackson impersonator, passed away on May 1, 2023 after being restrained by Penny on the NYC subway. According to witnesses, the man was making threats to other passengers, saying that he would “kill” them and that he would go to prison for the rest of his life when Penny stepped in and put him in a chokehold to take him to the ground. The autopsy revealed that Neely, who had a history of mental illness and an extensive criminal record, also had synthetic marijuana (known as K-2) in his system at the time of his death. Penny was lauded as a hero by many, who praised the veteran for stepping in to save his former passengers, but Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg ultimately filed charges against him that could have landed him behind bars for between five and fifteen years. But during deliberations last week, the jury revealed that they were deadlocked on the most serious charge of second degree manslaughter, and the DA moved to have that charge dismissed hoping they could still get a conviction on the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide. It didn't work out for them though, because earlier this week, the jury reached their verdict and found Penny not guilty of the remaining charge. After once again becoming a free man, Penny's first stop was - naturally - a bar to grab a beer. (Gotta think that "acquitted" beers have to be up there with shower beers and garage beers for the best beer you can drink). https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/1866197677920211295 And now it sounds like he's got some big plans for the weekend too: Hanging out with the future President and Vice President. Vice President-Elect JD Vance has invited Penny to be his personal guest at this weekend's Army-Navy game, the annual football game between the two service academies. This year's game will be held at Northwest Stadium, home of the Washington Commanders, where the AAC champion Army Black Knights, who finished the season at 11-1, will take on the 8-3 Navy Midshipmen. Penny will join the future Vice President and President Donald Trump in their suite for the game, a far cry from the defendant's table he was sitting at earlier in the week. After his acquittal, Vance (a former Marine himself) praised the jury for reaching the correct verdict: "I have not said much about this case out of fear of (negatively) influencing the jury. But thank God justice was done in this case. It was a scandal Penny was ever prosecuted in the first place." https://twitter.com/JDVance/status/1866183954291622152 And Vance also confirmed that Penny has accepted his invitation to attend the game: "Daniel’s a good guy, and New York’s mob district attorney tried to ruin his life for having a backbone. I’m grateful he accepted my invitation and hope he’s able to have fun and appreciate how much his fellow citizens admire his courage." https://twitter.com/JDVance/status/1867574373806215465 It's good to see Penny finally about to get out and enjoy himself after the nightmare he's gone through the past year or so.