Progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said New York City subway riders should be scared of Daniel Penny after he was found not guilty in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely — sparking swift backlash from straphangers who blasted the lefty lawmaker as “delusional.”
Penny, 26, was acquitted of all charges by a Manhattan jury Monday following the high-profile trial over the fatal caught-on-camera encounter with the troubled homeless man on an uptown F train last year.
In a previous clip that has now gone viral on X after the acquittal, Ocasio-Cortez said Penny’s apparent lack of remorse could mean he could cause more violent incidents on the trains.
“If we do not want violence on the subways and the point of our justice system is a level of accountability to prevent a person who does not have remorse about taking another person’s life,” the progressive said, according to a clip posted on social media in the wake of the trial that has been viewed more than 540,000 times.
“I mean even people who have engaged in manslaughter or have taken a life accidentally express remorse,” she continued.
“The fact that a person has expressed no remorse indicates a risk that it may happen again. And if we do not want to unleash that level of violence then we should exert a level of accountability to prevent that from happening.”
Neely, 30, died after Penny, a Long Island marine veteran, held him in a chokehold for six minutes on May 1, 2023 after he began shouting at and threatening passengers on a crowded subway, frightening them.
Penny and other witnesses claimed Neely said he didn’t care if he went back to jail and said he was willing to kill.
Before the high-profile trial kicked off, Penny was asked by The Post whether or not he would do it again.
He nodded and said, “I would — if there was a threat and danger in the present.”
Penny was cleared by jurors of criminally negligent homicide after the more serious manslaughter charge was dismissed by prosecutors last week after the 12 jurors deadlocked.
Straphangers quickly jumped to Penny’s defense, rebuking Ocasio-Cortez and labeling the marine vet a hero.
“They should rename that the Daniel Penny line. The only safe subway in New York,” one person heralded on X.
“No honest person believes we need fewer people willing to step up and protect work and children from being assaulted on the subway,” another added.
“AOC never fails to surprise me with her utter stupidity!” a third blasted.
