Daniel Penny Does Not Regret Role in Jordan Neely's Death on N.Y. Subway: 'I'll Take a Million People Calling Me Names'

One day after he was acquitted on charges related to his role in Jordan Neely’s 2023 death, Daniel Penny appeared on Fox News and said he has no regrets.

Penny, a White man, faced charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide stemming from the May 2023 incident on a New York City subway train, in which he came up behind Neely, a Black man experiencing homelessness, and placed him in a chokehold for several minutes after Neely allegedly threatened other passengers and complained of hunger.

Neely’s death, which was captured on viral video, sparked national outrage and led to widespread protests in New York City. The incident also sparked national debates on racism, vigilante justice and the treatment of the homeless and mentally ill.

On Monday, Penny was acquitted of his criminally negligent homicide charge when a jury found him not guilty. Prosecutors had previously moved to drop the manslaughter charges against him after the jury deadlocked.

In a new interview set to air later this week with Fox News’ Jeanine Pirro, Penny defends his actions.

“He was just threatening to kill people,” Penny claimed in a preview of the interview, shared by Fox News on Tuesday, telling the network that’s what motivated him to come up from behind Neely and take him to the ground in a chokehold for several minutes.

“I’m not a confrontational person,” Penny claims in the clip.

Another man, Eric Gonzalez, seen in the viral video coming up and holding Neely’s arms, testified in court that he hoped by holding Neely that Penny would let go of the chokehold – but Penny, a former Marine, still did not.

“I said, ‘I’m going grab his hands so you can let go,’” Gonzalez testified, according to the New York Times. “If I held his arms down, he could let go of his neck.” 

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Gonzalez said Neely eventually went limp, adding that he let go before Penny eventually did too.

Neely was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. In a statement to PEOPLE, Neely’s family said Penny “needs to be in prison” and alleged Penny “believed he was entitled to take Jordan’s life” behind a veil of vigilantism.

In the preview of his upcoming Fox News interview, Penny at one point holds back a smile while alluding to criticism he’s faced and the “enemies” he has made because of his role in Neely’s death. 

But in another clip from the Fox News sit-down, Penny claims the negative attention he’s received was worth it to him.

“The guilt I would’ve felt if someone did get hurt – if he did do what he was threatening to do – I would never be able to live with myself,” he says. “I’ll take a million court appearances and people calling me names and people hating me just to keep one of those people from getting hurt or killed.”

Although Penny was acquitted this week, he could still be held financially liable for his role in Neely’s death. Neely’s father, Andre Zachery, filed a civil suit against Penny, accusing him of causing his son’s death through “negligence, carelessness, and recklessness.”