Daniel Penny, the veteran who was acquitted of negligent homicide in the subway choking death of Jordan Neely, has been invited by Vice President-elect JD Vance to join Donald Trump’s suite at the Army-Navy football game in Maryland on Saturday. Vance said 26-year-old Penny has accepted his invitation.
Penny, a Marine veteran, was found not guilty earlier this week of criminally negligent homicide in Jordan Neely’s 2023 death. A more serious manslaughter charge was dismissed last week. The vice president-elect invited Penny to be his personal guest at the game Saturday, in Landover, Maryland, a source familiar with the invitation told CBS News. Vance, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, has said “justice was done” in the case, and Penny shouldn’t have been prosecuted in the first place.
“Daniel’s a good guy, and New York’s mob district attorney tried to ruin his life for having a backbone,” Vance said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I’m grateful he accepted my invitation and hope he’s able to have fun and appreciate how much his fellow citizens admire his courage.”
Those who will be attending the iconic game with Trump on Saturday include billionaire Elon Musk, Defense Secretary pick Pete Hegseth, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Senator-elect David McCormick of Pennsylvania.
Passengers said Neely hadn’t touched anyone but had expressed willingness to die, go to jail or even to kill. The former street performer was homeless, suffered from schizophrenia and had synthetic marijuana in his system. He had been convicted of assaulting people at subway stations but was free after serving prison time.
The Army-Navy football game is an annual tradition that dates back to 1890. It’s a hot ticket this year, partly because the game is close to Washington, D.C., and because both teams have strong records this year. The rivalry between the two military branches ignites strong feelings on both sides.
“Now, tomorrow, there’s a little thing called the Army-Navy game,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters in Thursday’s White House briefing. “We wish both sides a good game. We thank them for their service now, of course, at these service academies and for their service in the future. We don’t officially take sides here at the National Security Council, but “Go Navy, Beat Army.”
Last year, the Army Black Knights beat the Navy Midshipmen, 17-11. In the game’s history, the Navy has won 62 games to the Army’s 55, with seven ties.