Photo: Getty Images
Daniel Penny, the former Marine who choked Jordan Neely to death on a New York City subway, is insisting that he's not racist.
On Saturday (May 20), Penny, 24, told the New York Post that the May 1 chokehold wasn't motivated by race.
“This had nothing to do with race,” the Marine vet said. “I judge a person based on their character. I’m not a white supremacist."
“I mean, it’s, it’s a little bit comical," he continued. "Everybody who’s ever met me can tell you, I love all people, I love all cultures. You can tell by my past and all my travels and adventures around the world. I was actually planning a road trip through Africa before this happened.”
Neely, 30, died earlier this month after the 24-year-old put him in a chokehold for allegedly threatening passengers on the subway. Penny has been charged with second-degree manslaughter in Neely's death.
Activists and the family of Neely, who was homeless, say the 30-year-old Michael Jackson impersonator had a history of mental health issues and wasn't violent or threatening anyone in particular when he was choked to death. However, right-wing political figures have hailed Penny as a hero and a good Samaritan who rescued other passengers from danger.
Donte Mills, an attorney representing Neely’s family, spoke out about Penny's recent comments.
“This is an advertisement to soften the public’s view of Daniel Penny who choked Jordan Neely to death. We never called him a white supremacist, we called him a killer," Mills said in a statement. “We don’t care how many vacations he’s been on. We want to know why he didn’t let go of that chokehold until Jordan was dead,"
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