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Daniel Penny, the 24-year-old U.S. Navy veteran charged with manslaughter by strangling Jordan Neely in New York City, pleaded not guilty during his arraignment Wednesday morning in Manhattan.
The arraignment lasted about five minutes, with Penny wearing a navy suit and pleading not guilty to charges of second-degree manslaughter and negligent homicide.
He was given the same $100,000 bail terms that previously led to his release.
Neely was a 30-year-old homeless man with a long criminal record of assaults on subway drivers and a history of mental illness.
DANIEL PENNY: NAVY VET ACCUSED OF FATAL SUBWAY CHOKEHOLD REVEALS WHY HE GOT IN
Daniel Penny arrives for his arraignment at Manhattan Criminal Court Wednesday, June 28, 2023, in New York. Penny, 24, was initially charged with second-degree manslaughter in the May 1 death of Jordan Neely, a former Michael Jackson impersonator who screamed and begged for money when Penny, with the help of two other passengers, held him in a stranglehold. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
He died after an erratic altercation on an F train subway, with witnesses saying he threatened passengers and Penny intervened.
Penny restrained him with a stranglehold and dragged him to the ground with the help of another leash pendant. Yet another passenger captured part of the scuffle on video.
Daniel Penny arrives for his arraignment at Manhattan Criminal Court Wednesday, June 28, 2023, in New York. Penny, 24, was initially charged with second-degree manslaughter in the May 1 death of Jordan Neely, a former Michael Jackson impersonator who screamed and begged for money when Penny, with the help of two other passengers, held him in a stranglehold. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
“Daniel Penny faces manslaughter charge after allegedly putting Jordan Neely in a fatal chokehold for several minutes until and after he stopped moving,” Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg said. “I hope Mr. Neely’s loved ones are on the road to healing as they continue to mourn this tragic loss.”
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Critics of the decision to prosecute Penny have called the move political and believe the veteran acted in self-defense or to protect other passengers.
“If (Neely) had carried out his threats, he would have killed someone,” Penny told Fox News Digital in June.
Penny said he was on his way to the gym on May 1 afternoon when an agitated Neely boarded a train at Manhattan’s Second Avenue station around 2:30 p.m., yelling at passengers and threatening.
WITNESS TO JORDAN NEELY CHOKEHOLD DEATH CALLS DANIEL PENNY A ‘HERO’
Screenshot of a bystander video showing Jordan Neely being held in a stranglehold on the New York City subway. (Luces de Nueva York/Juan Alberto Vazquez via Storyful)
“I don’t care if I have to kill an F, I will,” Neely said according to another rider. “I’m going to jail, I’ll take a bullet.”
NYC NAVY VETERAN ACCUSED FOR DEATH OF MAN MAKING THREATS AND SCARYING PASSENGERS: Prosecutors
His antics made other passengers feel uncomfortable, and Penny intervened.
This undated photo, provided by Mills and Edwards, LLP, in New York, Friday, May 12, 2023, shows Jordan Neely, left, with Carolyn Neely, an aunt. Daniel Penny, 24, a U.S. Navy veteran who used a deadly chokehold on agitated New York subway passenger Jordan Neely, was released from custody Friday just hours after he surrendered on a manslaughter charge filed nearly two weeks after the encounter submitted. (Courtesy of Mills & Edwards, LLP via AP)
“I was scared,” he said in the June interview. “I looked around, and I saw older women and children, and they were terrified.”
Police questioned and released Penny after the incident, not arresting him until May 12, 11 days later, after mounting public outcry.
24-year-old US Navy veteran Daniel Penny is escorted in handcuffs by New York City police after turning himself in at the 5th Precinct in lower Manhattan. Penny turned himself in after being charged with 2nd degree manslaughter in the stranglehold of Jordan Neely. (Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
He faces charges of manslaughter and negligent homicide and up to 19 years in prison if convicted on both counts.
Neely has been described as a Michael Jackson impersonator, but he also had a violent history, including an assault on a 67-year-old woman in a subway station in 2021.
The city council knew that he suffered from a mental illness, according to the New York Postwhich shares common ownership with Fox News Digital, and came across as suicidal at times.
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Rebecca Rosenberg of Fox News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Michael Ruiz is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @mikerreports
