Multiple People Arrested Monday Night During Jordan Neely Protest

People attend the vigil to honor the life of a 30-year-old homeless African-American man J
Selcuk Acar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Multiple were arrested in New York on Monday night during a protest over the death of Jordan Neely, who died on the subway during an altercation with a passenger.

“The chaos erupted outside of the Broadway-Lafayette subway station where Neely was killed by another straphanger, Daniel Penny, a week ago,” reported the New York Post.

NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said during a press conference that police found a Molotov cocktail on the ground. None of the arrests pertained to the found cocktail.

“Most of the charges were for disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental administration over sound amplification,” noted the Post. “Monday night’s mayhem came two days after protesters held up an Upper East Side train station when they jumped on the subway tracks in a stand against Neely’s death.”

Freelance news photographer Stephani Keith was also taken into custody, with authorities alleging that she interfered with at least three arrests.

Jordan Neely doing a Michael Jackson impersonation in Times Square last night at premiere of the King of Pop documentary “This is it.” (Andrew Savulich/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)

Last week, a medical examiner in New York deemed the death of Jordan Neely a homicide. The incident occurred on Monday this week on the F train at the east Houston and Lafayette Street station after Neely had been allegedly throwing trash and yelling at passengers about his economic misfortunes. Neely had a history of mental issues and often frequented the station as a Michael Jackson impersonator. He also had an active warrant for his arrest for a felony assault. Per CBS News:

Police sources say around 2:30 Tuesday afternoon, Neely was allegedly throwing trash, yelling at passengers and acting erratically on the F train at the east Houston and Lafayette street station.

Things quickly escalated when the 24-year-old tried to subdue him by using what appears to be a chokehold.

CBS2 has learned Neely was homeless, had a history of mental illness, and had an active warrant out for his arrest for a felony assault.

Neely lost consciousness and eventually died after being held in the chokehold for several minutes, according to police.

“NYPD busted Neely 42 times across the last decade and he had a documented mental health history with police, with his most recent arrest in November 2021 for slugging a 67-year-old female stranger in the face. A warrant for his arrest on felony assault charges was issued on Feb. 23,” according to the New York Daily News.

Charges have not been filed against 24-year-old Daniel Penny. His attorneys said he never intended to harm Neely.

“We would first like to express, on behalf of Daniel Penny, our condolences to those close to Mr. Neely,” said his attorneys. “When Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and the other passengers, Daniel, with the help of others, acted to protect themselves, until help arrived.

“Daniel never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death,” the statement said. “We hope that out of this awful tragedy will come a new commitment by our elected officials to address the mental health crisis on our streets and subways.”

Protesters and activists have called for Penny to be prosecuted.

“This man needs to be prosecuted cause what you will do if you do not prosecute him, in my judgment, is you will set a standard of vigilantism that we cannot tolerate,” said Rev. Al Sharpton. “The precedent alone is a threat to all of us.”

“This man did not have his bio on his back,” he added. “This man had a mental issue and the way you handle that is not to put him in a chokehold and squeeze the life out of him. A mental issue on a train is not to be sentenced with death.”

WATCH: NYC Mayor Adams: AOC, Lander Are Irresponsibly Interfering in Subway Chokehold Death Investigation by Opining Before Facts Are Known:

Paul Roland Bois joined Breitbart News in 2021. He also directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed on TubiGoogle PlayYouTube Movies, or VIMEO On Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.