A House Republican is pushing to award Daniel Penny the highest civilian honor that Congress can award, and I'm all for it. Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz) plans to introduce a resolution to grant the Congressional Gold Medal to Penny, the U.S. Marine veteran who defended himself and fellow passengers against a threatening homeless man on a crowded New York City subway, before being unjustly prosecuted by D.A. Alvin Bragg.
"Daniel Penny’s actions exemplify what it means to stand against the grain to do right in a world that rewards moral cowardice," said Crane. "Our system of ‘justice’ is fiercely corrupt, allowing degenerates to steamroll our laws and our sense of security, while punishing the righteous. Mr. Penny bravely stood in the gap to defy this corrupt system and protect his fellow Americans. I’m immensely proud to introduce this resolution to award him with the Congressional Gold Medal to recognize his heroism."
Penny is on trial for the death of Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man with schizophrenia, following an altercation on a New York City subway in May 2023. Witnesses reported Neely acting erratically, threatening passengers and declaring he didn’t care if he died. Penny subdued Neely with a chokehold for about six minutes, after which Neely died. Penny’s defense argues he acted to protect himself and others and questions whether the chokehold directly caused Neely’s death, citing the presence of synthetic drugs in Neely’s system. Witnesses have praised Penny for his actions.
Our system of 'justice' is fiercely corrupt, allowing degenerates to steamroll our laws and our sense of security while punishing the righteous. Mr. Penny bravely stood in the gap to defy this corrupt system and protect his fellow Americans.
— Rep. Eli Crane (@RepEliCrane) December 7, 2024
I'm immensely proud to introduce this… https://t.co/yLPNSS1DIe
"Throughout President Biden's term as President, local governments across various cities and States failed to adequately protect residents and their property from violent criminals," the resolution reads. "On May 1, 2023, an individual began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and other passengers on a New York City subway."
Daniel Penny, with others, acted to save New York City subway riders from threatening behavior by restraining a criminal - who had 42 prior arrests and an active warrant - until the police came.
The courageous actions taken in response to the threat to his community by Daniel Penny, a decorated U.S. Marine Corps veteran, went beyond the civilian call of duty.
The resolution adds that "It is the sense of the Congress that Daniel Penny, with integrity and honor that is characteristic of who he is and of his honorable service in the United States Marine Corps, stepped in to protect women and children from an individual who was threatening to kill innocent bystanders, and he is a hero."
The jury deadlocked for a second time on Friday, prompting prosecutors to drop the top charge of second-degree manslaughter. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley approved the dismissal. The jury is now deliberating on the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide, which carries a maximum sentence of four years but no minimum. Deliberations have been ongoing since Tuesday afternoon.
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