Meghan McCain Issues Warning to ‘the Left’ Over Daniel Penny

Meghan McCain, the daughter of the late Republican Arizona Senator John McCain, warned “the left” on Friday about how much they are “radicalizing people” over their stance on Daniel Penny’s manslaughter case.

Penny, a 26-year-old former U.S. Marine, faced manslaughter and criminal negligent homicide charges in the death of Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man who performed as a street artist. In May 2023, Neely, who was Black, was placed in a chokehold by the veteran from Long Island, who is white, after yelling at other passengers about being hungry in a crowded subway car in New York City.

Witnesses said Neely proclaimed that he didn’t care if he lived or died and that he wanted to return to jail. Penny and some others said they heard him say he was also ready to kill. Penny, who was already on the train when Neely boarded, approached him from behind and put him in a chokehold. Several minutes of the altercation were caught on bystander video and was a key piece of evidence in the trial.

Neely’s killing sparked a heated debate among progressives who felt Neely was unjustly murdered by a vigilante and conservatives who saw Penny as a hero who intervened to protect his fellow New Yorkers.

On Friday afternoon, McCain—whose father was a prisoner of war (POW) when serving in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War—wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “I don’t think the left fully grasps how much they are radicalizing people when a marine who saved a bunch of people on the subway from a violent person with mental illness yelling ‘someone is going to die today’ is demonized. Daniel Penny did nothing wrong, you lunatics.”

Newsweek reached out to the Congressional Progressive Caucus via online form for comment on Saturday morning.

McCain’s post came a little over an hour before the judge in Penny’s trial dismissed the most serious charge against him, second-degree manslaughter, following a hung jury. Penny still faces a charge of criminally negligent homicide, which holds a maximum of four years in prison. However, the judge could also decide on a sentence that excludes prison time if Penny is convicted of the lesser charge.

Meanwhile, members of New York’s Black Lives Matter (BLM) chapter rebuked the jury and judge assigned to Penny’s manslaughter trial, with the co-founder of the civil rights group, Hawk Newsome, saying on Friday that “white supremacy got another victory.”

Hawk Newsome told reporters outside court on Friday, “Racism is still alive and kicking in America…those among you who say that Daniel Penny is innocent, have racism and bias in your heart.”

Meanwhile, Chivona Renée Newsome, who founded New York’s BLM chapter with Hawk, said that the jury “no matter the facts, no matter the expert witnesses, no matter the people yelling on that train that day to let Jordan go, you will kill him—they will not find a white man guilty of killing a Black man in modern-day America.”

What Have Politicians Said About Neely’s Death?

Days after Neely’s death, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive New York Democrat, wrote on X, “Jordan Neely was murdered,” replying to a New York Times article that was titled, “Man Dies on Subway After Another Rider Places Him in Chokehold.”

The congresswoman added: “But bc Jordan was houseless and crying for food in a time when the city is raising rents and stripping services to militarize itself while many in power demonize the poor, the murderer gets protected w/ passive headlines + no charges. It’s disgusting.”

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, a progressive Democrat, wrote on his personal X account a day after Neely’s death, “NYC is not Gotham. We must not become a city where a mentally ill human being can be choked to death by a vigilante without consequence. Or where the killer is justified & cheered.”

On May 12, 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, wrote on X, “We stand with Good Samaritans like Daniel Penny. Let’s show this Marine… America’s got his back,” sharing a link to a fundraiser to pay for Penny’s legal expenses.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, wrote on X days after Neely’s death, “The Marine who stepped in to protect others is a hero. The left always chooses career violent criminals and/or drug addicts as their heroes & martyrs, and communists anarchist like AOC blow the dog whistle. Jordan Neely was a violent criminal who should have been behind bars.”

Prosecutors say that Penny’s chokehold is what ultimately killed Neely. However, Penny’s defense team’s pathologist said that Neely died from a combination of using synthetic marijuana, schizophrenia, the altercation with Penny and a genetic condition.

Penny’s lawyers also urge that he was protecting citizens in the subway from Neely.

Penny’s lawyers previously told Newsweek: “Waiting as a jury deliberates is never easy when your client’s freedom hangs in the balance. Despite the anxiety inherent in the deliberation process, we remain confident that the jury, having heard the evidence, will return a full acquittal.”