The former Marine, who put 30-year-old Jordan Neely in a chokehold before his death on a New York subway, released a statement saying he acted in self-defense and that he “never intended to harm the harming former Michael”. Jackson impersonator.

Daniel Penny, 24, has not been charged with a felony in connection with Neely’s death. Multiple reports suggest that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg could convene a grand jury and indict as soon as next week.

In the statement, Penny’s attorneys say the Long Islander “couldn’t have predicted [Neely’s] untimely death.’ It also said Penny was merely trying to detain Neely, who was accused of disrupting aboard an F-train, until police arrived.

Neely’s attorneys also targeted “elected officials,” urging them to “address the mental health crisis on our streets in subways.”

Penny’s attorney is former Manhattan Republican district attorney candidate Thomas Kenniff, who unsuccessfully ran against Bragg in 2021. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a left-wing Democratic congresswoman, earlier this week called Neely’s death a “homicide.”

Former Marine Daniel Penny was questioned by police in connection with Neely’s death but has not been charged with a crime

Jordan Neely, 30, was a Michael Jackson impersonator whose mental health has been deteriorating in recent years, according to his family

“Earlier this week, Daniel Penny was involved in a tragic incident on the New York City subway that ended in the death of Jordan Neely. First of all, on behalf of Daniel Penny, we would like to offer our condolences to those close to Mr. Neely,” the press release begins.

“Mr Neely had a documented history of violent and erratic behavior that was an apparent result of an ongoing and untreated mental illness. When Mr Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and the other passengers, Daniel, with the help of others, acted to protect himself until help arrived. Daniel never intended to harm Mr Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death.’

“For too long, the mentally ill have been treated with indifference. We hope that out of this terrible tragedy will emerge a renewed commitment from our elected officials to address the mental health crisis on our streets and subways,” she concluded.

The statement was issued by law firm Raiser and Kenniff on Friday night. Neely’s death occurred on Monday.

It is not known when the grand jury will be convened, nor what charges District Attorney Alvin Bragg is expected to pursue.

According to a separate report from ABC New York, the case is expected to be heard as early as next week. The man who put Neely in the chokehold was formerly named Penny, 24, of Long Island, New York.

The ABC report notes that it is “typical” for prosecutors to take their time in complex cases before calling a jury.

Detectives in the case have spoken to about six witnesses who saw the disturbance and are trying to speak to about four or five others.

Penny was interrogated by the police and released. He reportedly said he had no intention of killing Neely and tried to hold him until police arrived.

Earlier this week, the coroner’s office ruled that Neely’s death was a “murder,” but it remains to be seen whether a grand jury will find it a criminal offense.

Friday afternoon marked the third straight day of protests calling for Penny’s arrest. Activists gathered in Washington Square Park in Manhattan to hold a demonstration.

Protesters displayed signs reading “Justice for Jordan Neely” and “Being poor is not a crime.”

Organizers of local protests described the act as a “lynching” and as an example of “white vigilante justice” against people of color.

New York Mayor Eric Adams cited mental health issues as a role in the incident but said he would not comment further while the investigation is ongoing.

Also on Friday, Neely’s family called for Penny’s arrest, saying they “want to see him behind bars”.

“The family is outraged by what happened,” said Lennon Edwards, one of her attorneys.

He told TMZ, “The family feels that the justice system is failing them at this moment.

“It really took too long to determine that it was a murder. It was clear from the start. Watch the video, that tells you.

‘The coroner’s office came back and said death from compression in the neck. That’s clear – you see that stranglehold.’

Edwards said watching the video was extremely distressing for the family.

“They are watching this video and the family has been watching this video and they are in tears. Every conversation we have with them leaves no dry eye.

“And literally they want justice.”

Edwards added: “They want Jordan’s killer to be prosecuted. They want to see him in prison, behind bars.’

Penny’s attorney tells they have contacted the DA’s office and the NYPD to work together.

Neely had been arrested 42 times in the past, including for punching a 67-year-old woman in the face. But New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke for many when she said his criminal record was irrelevant.

“Leaders want to raise his record as if that justifies a public execution on the subway?” she tweeted. ‘Where have we come to?’

Edwards agreed that his background shouldn’t matter, nor should his gossip on the tube.

Protesters on Broadway last night after Neely’s death were ruled a murder

During the protest, activists chanted “F*** Eric Adams!” and “Black Lives Matter”

“You don’t kill anyone because you’re uncomfortable,” he said.

“You’re uncomfortable talking to your boss: You’re uncomfortable talking to a lot of people throughout the day.

“If we stick with what happened here, we have someone who started it – and the order is important here – that the first statement we heard from his mouth is from witnesses that he said: ‘ I’m hungry.’

‘That’s the problem.’

Edwards noted that Neely was wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt that “made it very clear whether someone was armed or not.”

Neely wasn’t armed.

“He was approached from behind and immediately put in a choke hold. This is not a reasonable response to anything that has taken place before.

“Some have thrown the word off balance – well who is really off balance when you look at this incident? It’s the man who killed him – anyone should have been afraid of him.”

Edwards said that Penny was acting as a vigilante.

“That’s clearly the mentality of someone who says I’m taking the law into my own hands. I’m taking this situation into my own hands.

“And I think it was less about protecting the people on the train and more about how he felt about the person he had his arms around.”

The first footage showed Penny holding Neely in a choke hold while two other men held his arms, but it didn’t show the moment Penny released him.

Witnesses say that Neely, who was schizophrenic, behaved erratically, throwing garbage and screaming that he wanted to “die” or “go to jail” because he was fed up with not having anything to eat.

A longer video that surfaced Friday shows the three minutes and 52 seconds after the train pulled into Broadway Lafayette Station at 2:30 p.m. Monday.

The footage begins with Penny already holding Neely in a choke hold. For two minutes and five seconds, Neely struggled on the ground, kicking his feet.

He went limp after two minutes and six seconds when a passer-by boarded the train.

The man – who can be heard but not seen – warned Penny that Neely was having a bowel movement, which he believed was a sign he was dying.

“He emptied himself . . . you’re going to kill him now,” he said.

Another man who helped Penny hold Neely replied that it was an old stain on Neely’s pants and that Penny was no longer “pinching”.

“He doesn’t press? In order. Because after he dumped himself, that was it. You have to let him go,” he replied.

He then warned of a “murder charge”.

The second man turned to Neely and said, “Hey, can you hear me?”.

The man silently asked Penny to get up.

Penny doesn’t speak, but lets go of Neely and jumps up.

The unidentified bystander is heard saying, “That was one hell of a chokehold man.”

In the next few seconds, Penny and the other man who had been helping him tried to get Neely into the recovery position.

After three minutes and 50 seconds, Neely appears to be convulsing or taking a deep breath.

The video cuts off at three minutes and 52 seconds. It is unclear whether he has moved again.

In a statement Thursday, a spokesman for the DA office said: “This is a grave and serious matter which ended in the tragic death of Jordan Neely.

“As part of our rigorous ongoing investigation, we will review the coroner’s report, review all available video and photo footage, identify and interview as many witnesses as possible, and obtain additional medical documentation.

“This investigation is being conducted by senior, experienced prosecutors and we will provide an update when there is more public information to share.

“The Manhattan Attorney’s Office encourages anyone who witnessed or has information about this incident to call 212-335-9040.”

A court in Russia on Friday ordered the pre-trial detention of a prominent theater director and a playwright after they were accused of “justifying terrorism”.

Director Zhenya Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk will be detained for at least two months while awaiting trial, Russian news agencies reported.

The indictment comes as many in Russia’s theater and arts scene have fled the country while Russia’s war in Ukraine is fueling widespread dissent at home.

What are they accused of?

Berkovich and Petriychuk were arrested in Moscow on Thursday. Authorities also searched the apartments of Berkovich’s parents and grandmother in St. Petersburg.

The charges against the two stem from a play called Finist the Brave Falcon, which was named after a Russian fairy tale.

The play, performed only by women, tells the story of Russian women who were prosecuted after being solicited online to marry radical Islamists in Syria.

Authorities claim the play “convinces terrorism” – a charge that could carry up to seven years in prison.

Playwright Svetlana Petriychuk (pictured above) and director who directed the show, Zhenya Berkovich, face up to seven years in prisonImage: Nemever/Wikipedia

On Friday, Berkovich’s attorney noted in court that “Finist, the Brave Falcon” won two Golden Mask theater awards — Russia’s most prestigious national theater award — in the past year. The play was also supported by the Russian Ministry of Culture.

Petriychuk’s lawyer added that the play was read to inmates at a women’s prison in Siberia in 2019 and that the Russian State Penitentiary Service praised the work on its website.

How was the reaction?

The arrest of the 38-year-old theater director and 43-year-old playwright has shaken the Russian theater scene – at home and abroad.

Many Russian actors and directors called the allegations absurd, with some suggesting that the allegations had less to do with the play and more to do with Berkovich’s opposition to the war in Ukraine.

Berkovich has published several poems criticizing President Vladimir Putin’s more than year-long war in Ukraine.

St. Petersburg police raid anti-war art exhibition

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As of Friday evening, an open letter in support of the two artists had been signed by over 3,400 people. The letter, which was launched by the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, argued that the play “carries an absolutely clear anti-terror sentiment”.

“It’s a bit like arresting Dostoyevsky for justifying the murder of old ladies after writing Crime and Punishment,” journalist Alexander Baumov was quoted as saying by the news website Meduza.

Berkovich was also a former student of one of Russia’s most successful directors, Kirill Serebrennikov, who fled the country.

“Such people in culture are a rarity in a normal country, a miracle, a pride. But in Russia everything is reversed now,” Serebrennikov said after the announcement of Berkovich’s arrest.

“You’re a star,” he said, calling her his “most talented” student.

Strike Artist

After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the government and authorities launched a campaign of repression not seen since Soviet times.

Criticism of the war has been effectively criminalized – and those who speak out against Russia’s actions face lengthy prison terms.

Many actors, writers, directors and musicians are facing growing pressure – prompting many to flee the country.

Berkovich, who is raising two adopted daughters, has refused to leave Russia.

RS/SMS (AP, AFP)

Russia: Artist blacklists

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Find here all our Live #UKRAINE

11:33 p.m.: The summary of the day can be found this Friday in our daily article dedicated to the development of the situation in Ukraine.

11:28 p.m.: According to Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Maliar, Russia hopes to capture Bakhmut by Tuesday, the day it celebrates the victory over Nazi Germany with great fanfare in a grand celebration of patriotic enthusiasm. Moscow’s tactic, she said, was to “remove men from Wagner” to replace them “with paratrooper assault units” from the army.

11:27 p.m .: The head of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner has threatened to withdraw his troops from the town of Bachmout and accused the Russian general staff of having deprived him of ammunition. In this regard, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov sent a telegram asking the same staff to “go” to Bakhmout and “set things right”.

4:09 p.m .: Russia announces evacuations in 18 occupied locations in the Zaporizhia region, including Ernerhodar, the city where the nuclear power plant is located. In the past few days, Ukraine has “intensified the bombing” in this area,” Evguéni Balitski, the regional manager employed by Moscow, explained to Telegram. There is no talk of a troop withdrawal: this evacuation will primarily affect children and their parents, the elderly and disabled, and hospital patients.

3:50 p.m .: Should the Wagner group effectively withdraw its troops from the front lines, Russia would lose the support of “tens of thousands of men currently present on the ground,” explained Lukas Aubin, a specialist in Russia’s geopolitics within the Institute for International and Strategic Relations, on franceinfo . Statements by Yevgeny Prigozhin, as well as the possible drone attack on the Kremlin, “show that there are difficulties at the top of the state in Russia, that there are difficulties in controlling this ‘special military operation'”.

3:49 p.m .: The Russian general staff bears “responsibility for tens of thousands of killed and wounded” Russians in Ukraine, accuses the leader of the paramilitary group Wagner, Evguéni Prigojine, in his most direct attacks against the Russian minister to date. He had already announced this morning that his troops would be withdrawing from Bakhmout, where they are at the front, on May 10 due to insufficient ammunition being supplied by Moscow.

3:27 p.m.: The Senate site is accessible again after being the target of a cyberattack for several hours, claimed by a pro-Russian group.

12:59 p.m .: A group of pro-Russian hackers complained of a cyber attack on the French Senate website, which has been inaccessible since this morning. In a message on Telegram, the group NoName057(16) justified its attack by saying that “France is working with Ukraine on a new ‘aid package’ that could include weapons”. “No hypothesis has been confirmed at this time,” warns the Senate Communications Service.

11:54 a.m.: A new fire broke out this Friday in south-west Russia near Ukraine at an oil refinery that was hit by a drone strike the day before, local emergency services said, quoted by Russian news agencies.

11:14 a.m.: This week’s alleged Ukrainian drone attack on the Kremlin could not have happened without the United States knowing, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, while Washington and Kyiv denied any involvement.

10.30am: The head of Russia’s paramilitary group Wagner has threatened to withdraw his fighters from the epicenter of fighting in eastern Ukraine over a lack of ammunition, which he accuses the army of rivalry. “We wanted to capture the city of Bakhmout before May 9th. Seeing this, the military bureaucrats stopped the (ammunition) supplies,” said Yevgeny Prigozhin.

10:28 am: Due to a lack of ammunition, the Wagner group threatened to withdraw from Bakhmout on May 10

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