Little is known about the political views of Daniel Penny, the former Marine accused of strangling Jordan Neely on the New York City subway.
But since Mr. Penny was arrested Friday for second-degree manslaughter, he has quickly been embraced by right-wing political figures and groups.
A campaign to raise money for his defense — set up on GiveSendGo, a self-described Christian crowdfunding site also used to raise funds for several people arrested in the January 6 attack on the Capitol – raised more than $1.8 million on Sunday night.
In urging his followers to donate to the fund, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a likely Republican presidential candidate, compared Mr. Penny to the good Samaritan, a biblical figure. The saint helped a man who was beaten and stripped naked. his clothes and leave by the roadside.
“Show this Marine… America has his back.” he said on Twitter on Friday.
Representative Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican, called Mr. Penny a “Subway Superman.”
Other right-wing commentators also sided with Mr. Penny, including Charlie Kirkwho runs Turning Point USA, a conservative student group, and Jenna Ellisattorney for former President Donald J. Trump.
The wave of support from the right contrasts sharply with the reaction of the left after the murder of Mr. Neely, 30, on May 1. Protesters called for Mr. Penny’s arrest. Alvin L. Bragg, district attorney for Manhattan, said political figures include Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, should charge Mr. Penny immediately.
Republican support for Penny, 24, who grew up on Long Island and is the most recent New York voter registrar, since 2016, lists his party, according to political analysts. he is a Conservative, following the model of reaction to past incidents.
Conservative commentators also hailed Kyle Rittenhouse as a hero, an 18-year-old white man from Antioch, Ill., who shot dead three men, two of them fatally, during the protests. love in Kenosha, Wis., in 2020. Mr. Trump met him after he acquitted of murder and call him “a kind young man.”
Greg Abbott, the Republican governor of Texas, said he plans to pardon Daniel Perry, an army sergeant who was sentenced to 25 years in prison earlier this month for shooting dead an armed man. during the Black Lives Matter protest in Austin.
Douglas Muzzio, a political science professor at Baruch, said that like these men, Penny has become a symbol of his “masculine” character and “tough, action, stand”. attract a conservative part of the country. Colleges.
Noting that many facts about the strangulation remain unclear, including what happened before Mr. Penny grabbed Mr. Neely, Mr. Muzzio said, “What did he do, feel or believe? important.”
“It is symptomatic of our times — the division between red and blue, the division between Black and white — and it resonates with some of the deeper realities of American politics,” Mr. Muzzio said.
Moments before posting in support of Mr. Penny on Twitter, Mr. DeSantis, during a visit to Peoria, Ill., criticized Mr. Bragg – expressing disdain for prosecutors who were “revealed by “people like George Soros.” donate. refers to the billionaire libertarian and Democratic donor, who is frequently the target of right-wing attacks, some of which use disguised Jewish guise.
New York’s public advocate Jumaane Williams said Mr DeSantis’ criticism follows a right-wing playbook aimed at garnering political support by instilling fear “whatever the truth says”. .
“If violence can involve Black people or people with dark skin, they cause even more difficulties,” he said.
Gabriel Murphy, an engineer who served in the Marines from 2006 to 2010, said Mr Penny’s praise was “depressing”. and who shortly after Mr. Neely’s death started a petition calling for Mr. Penny to be charged.said that he used the wrong way of chokehold.
He said people have an image of the military in their mind. “They are cheering for that mental picture – that every Marine is a bloodthirsty killer waiting to do justifiable violence,” Mr. Murphy said in an interview.
But the Marines are trained to use the neck lock on enemy fighters and stop using that force once their enemy is unconscious, he said. A four-minute video of strangulation shows Mr Penny clinging to Mr Neely 50 seconds after he went limp.
“I don’t think what he’s doing is okay, and I don’t think it’s consistent with anything the Marines teach,” Mr. Murphy said.
Mr. Penny’s legal expenses fund is organized by his attorneys, including Thomas Kenniff, who ran as a Republican against Mr. Bragg in 2021. Mr. Penny’s attorneys were not immediately available for comment on Sunday.
An anonymous donor donated $10,000 with the note: “thank you for protecting citizens that day.”
On Sunday, a fund set up by Mr. Neely’s family to help pay for funeral expenses raised a little more than $102,000.
Nicholas Nehamas contribution report.
