Daniel Penny's trial and acquittal in Jordan Neely's subway death

Video of the encounter drew national attention.^[2] Witnesses made five emergency calls over four minutes as Penny held Neely on the floor of the car,^[3] and Neely, who was Black, appeared to be in the throes of a mental health crisis.^[10] Penny's lawyers said he had not foreseen the "awful tragedy,"^[11] and in May prosecutors charged him with second-degree manslaughter.^[4] Supporters raised more than $1.3 million on a crowdfunding site,^[7] and Penny said in videos released by his lawyers that he had been protecting passengers and had not tried to kill Neely.^[12] A grand jury indicted him, and he pleaded not guilty.^[13][14]

His trial opened in November 2024.^[15] Prosecutors said Penny had recklessly caused Neely's death,^[1] and the defense argued that he had used a headlock to restrain Neely without applying strong force throughout.^[16] As jurors deliberated, Neely's father sued Penny,^[9] and the judge dismissed the manslaughter charge at prosecutors' request.^[5] On December 9 the jury found Penny not guilty of criminally negligent homicide.^[6] Days later Vice President-elect JD Vance brought him as a guest to the Army-Navy football game, where he joined President-elect Donald Trump.^[8][17]