Squad member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has slammed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for calling Marine Daniel Penny a Good Samaritan.
The woke congresswoman suggested the presidential nominee “read the Bible” as she left the funeral service for 30-year-old homeless man Jordan Neely on Saturday.
Penny, 24, was filmed choking Neely after Neely threatened people on a New York City subway on May 1.
He is charged with second-degree manslaughter and faces up to 15 years in prison.
But some, including the Florida governor, have come to Penny’s defense, saying he was just trying to protect others.
The woke Congresswoman AOC slammed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for his comments in defense of Marine veteran Daniel Penny as she left the funeral of Jordan Neely on Saturday
DeSantis – who is expected to announce his candidacy for president next week – called Penny a “Good Samaritan”
Penny, 24, was filmed choking Neely after he threatened people on a New York subway on May 1
Speaking about the incident at a news conference Tuesday, Ron DeSantis commended Penny for doing the “right thing” when touting the Navy’s military service.
“Vets watch out for vets,” said DeSantis — who is expected to announce his presidential campaign next week. “What we can’t have in our society are inmates running the institution.”
He then referred to Penny as a “Good Samaritan”.
“What you saw on the subway was you saw a very dangerous guy. He put people in danger. “He bragged that he could do harm,” DeSantis claimed.
“And I think that stepping in as a Good Samaritan and protecting the people was the right thing to do.” And I don’t think he should be prosecuted.’
DeSantis also criticized Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for filing charges against Penny.
“I think there’s a prosecutor there who takes the side of the criminal element and not the side of law-abiding citizens, and when people have the audacity to stand up to the criminal element, he goes after them.”
“I think the charges will be dropped,” DeSantis continued, “but if not, I think he can win in the end.”
But when asked by an unidentified reporter on Saturday about his remarks calling Penny a Good Samaritan, New York Congresswoman AOC said, “I think he should read a Bible.”
In the Christian Bible, the parable of the Good Samaritan is about a traveler who is stripped of his clothing, beaten and left half dead by the roadside.
First, a Jewish priest and a Levite walk past the traveler, who is believed to be a Jew, without helping him.
Finally, a Samaritan comes by and helps the traveler, despite the mistrust of the Samaritans and Jews at the time.
The term “Good Samaritan” has since become commonplace for anyone who helps a stranger.
Penny faces 15 years in prison for putting a deadly chokehold on 30-year-old Jordan Neely
“What do you think of Governor Ron DeSantis calling Daniel Penny a Good Samaritan?”
AOC: “He should read a Bible”
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) May 19, 2023
AOC’s comments came just moments after Rev. Al Sharpton claimed Penny was a murderess during a eulogy for Neely.
He, too, took aim at DeSantis’ remarks, saying, “A good Samaritan helps those in trouble, he doesn’t suffocate them.”
“What happened to Jordan was a crime and this family should not be left alone.”
Sharpton also condemned New York City’s failure to care for the homeless.
“He’s been choked his entire life,” Sharpton said, claiming Neely’s threats that day were a “cry for help.”
Prior to his death, Neely had threatened the Uptown F train in New York City and thrown trash, and had a long history of felonies including assault and misdemeanor.
“Jordan didn’t annoy anyone on the train. Jordan screamed for help. We continue to criminalize people with mental illnesses. They don’t need abuse, they need help,” he said.
“We shouldn’t celebrate Jordan’s life, but we shouldn’t forget how he died.” “We’re not here for natural reasons.”
Reverend Al Sharpton used Neely’s funeral to condemn Penny’s behavior, claiming Neely was just “screaming for help”.
Prior to his death, Neely had threatened the Uptown F train in New York City and thrown trash, and had a long history of felonies including assault and misdemeanor
But Neely had an extensive criminal record for crimes on the subway, including brutally assaulting other passengers.
In 2021, he assaulted an elderly woman as she exited the Bowery station in the East Village. According to a criminal complaint, she suffered a broken nose, a fractured orbital bone, and “bruising, swelling and significant pain in the back of her head” in the Nov. 12 attack.
According to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, on February 9, he admitted to aggravated assault and received a 15-month alternative-to-incarceration program.
He should remain in a treatment facility and remain sober.
Between January 2020 and August 2021, he was arrested for public indecency after pulling down his pants and exposing himself to a woman, assault for slapping a woman in the face, and criminal contempt for violating a restraining order.
According to Fox News, all three cases were dismissed as part of its Feb. 9 settlement.
In June 2019, Neely assaulted 68-year-old Filemon Castillo Baltazar on the platform of the W. 4th St. station in Greenwich Village, court records show.
“Out of nowhere, he punched me in the face,” the victim told the New York Daily News. He said he saw Neely rummaging in garbage cans for food before the attack.
A month earlier, Neely punched a man in the face and broke his nose on the platform at Broadway-Lafayette — the same subway station where he died.
In both 2019 cases, he pleaded guilty to assault and was sentenced to six months in prison.
Neely’s family said he “experienced a mental attack” and no driver asked what was going on before Penny and two others grabbed him.
Neely’s aunt and father say it was difficult to locate him because he was homeless. Neely’s criminal record included 42 arrests, including for assaulting people on the subway
A woman on the subway that day described how she was reading a book when she heard Neely scream.
“He said, ‘I don’t care if I have to kill a man, I will. I’m going to jail, I’m going to take a bullet.” I look at where we are on the subway, in the sardine can, and I’m like, “Okay, we’re between stations. We have nowhere to go.”
She told FOX News that Penny only acted in “self-defense,” and I believe in my heart that he saved a lot of people that day who could have been hurt.
“No one wants to kill anyone,” she claimed. Mr. Penny didn’t want to kill this man. It took three men to hold Mr. Neely down. He was struggling.’
The woman, who described herself as a “woman of color”, also said race had nothing to do with what happened on the train.
“This is not about race.” This is about people of all colors who were very scared and one man who stepped in to help them.
“Race is used to divide us.”
She said New York — a city she’s lived in for 50 years — is starting to look like a “third world country.”
“I miss the city under Giuliani’s rule.” When it comes to embarrassing people or exposing them to violent behavior, it’s not the people in power who are supposed to protect us.”