DeSantis tweets support for Marine charged in NYC subway chokehold death

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) tweeted out his support for the former Marine charged last week with second-degree manslaughter in the chokehold death of a man on the New York City subway earlier this month.

"We must defeat the Soros-Funded DAs, stop the Left's pro-criminal agenda, and take back the streets for law abiding citizens. We stand with Good Samaritans like Daniel Penny. Let’s show this Marine... America’s got his back," DeSantis tweeted Friday, adding a link to an online crowdfunding page for the former Marine's defense fund.

The online crowdfunding page on “GiveSendGo” has raised more than $2 million as of Monday for the legal defense of former Marine, Daniel Penny. The page is titled “Daniel Penny’s Legal Defense Fund” and was created by the law firm Raiser & Kenniff, P.C. to cover legal fees “from any criminal charges filed and any future civil lawsuits that may arise, as well as expenses related to his defense."

Penny, who is white, turned himself in to police last week for the killing of 30-year-old Jordan Neely, who was Black. Neely was homeless and had struggled with mental illness at the time of this death.

Penny was charged with second-degree manslaughter and arraigned by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office last week over Neely's death. Neely died after Penny put him in a chokehold during an incident on the subway.

The city chief medical examiner’s office ruled earlier this month that Neely’s death was caused from the compression of the neck.

Neely had been shouting at other passengers on the subway before he was tackled and placed in a chokehold. Attorneys for Penny maintain that the former Marine did not want to hurt anyone and was acting to protect himself and other subway passengers.