Right-wing media are yet again running to the side of an accused vigilante killer, framing Daniel Penny — who has been charged with choking Jordan Neely to death on a New York subway — as a “hero” deserving of “unwavering” political and financial support. 

On May 1, Penny placed Neely in a chokehold that lasted at least three minutes. One witness who filmed the homicide claimed Neely — an unhoused Black man who had long suffered with mental illness following the murder of his mother — was restrained for as long as 15 minutes. 

Bolstered by years of coverage setting the stage to legitimize extrajudicial violence, right-wing media quickly attempted to justify the killing, accusing the left of creating a “race hustle” and framing Penny as a good samaritan who protected the vulnerable. Penny was charged with second-degree manslaughter on May 12, resulting in an immediate cycle of outrage from conservative figures who have not only lionized Penny, but also launched a widespread effort to help him escape criminal charges. 

With this wave of promotion — including personal donations from right-wing commentators Tim Pool, Candace Owens, and Tammy Bruce — Penny’s defense fund has raised over $2 million on GiveSendGo, a Christian fundraising site previously used by January 6 rioters. 

Right-wing media figures have lionized Penny



A number of right-wing media figures engaged in outright hero worship of Penny: 

• On Fox News, The Five co-host Greg Gutfeld said the indictment “is political, it’s pro-criminal, it’s anti-hero.” 
• Fox host Laura Ingraham called Penny a “hero” and promised her “unwavering support” after warning that “the mob” pressured Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg into charging him in Neely’s killing.
• Daily Wire host Michael Knowles called Penny’s manslaughter charge a “hideous miscarriage of justice” and suggested he should instead be given a “key to the city” and “a ticker-tape parade.”
• Newsmax host Greg Kelly referred to Penny as “the subway hero” and suggested that he did not “technically” place Neely in a chokehold, saying, “to me, it looked like an upper-body restraint maneuver.” Guest Mark Simone then called Neely “a terrorist” and said he hoped Penny escaped charges. 

Others encouraged further vigilante violence:

• OAN correspondent Caitlin Sinclair claimed that “no one should be surprised at this point, here in liberal New York, when the people start to defend ourselves” from “evil in a blue city.” Sinclair also suggested that the charges against Penny mean “self-defense is no longer a right,” and said she often “wished that there was a Daniel Penny on that subway” when she was younger.
• Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Will Cain called for vigilante justice against “bad people,” arguing “we need more Daniel Pennys.” 
• Fox News guest Chad Robichaux said Penny “did exactly what he should do. He stepped up to defend people in that car. … He did the right thing.” 

Some right-wing media figures alleged that Penny was prosecuted because he is white and would have been richly rewarded otherwise: 

• In a video titled “The Race-Based Lynching Of A Hero Marine Veteran,” Daily Wire host Ben Shapiro claimed that Penny was a “hero” and suggested that the case only received coverage so the media could “propagate the lie that America is a systemically racist country.” 
• Fox contributor Leo Terrell referred to Penny as a “hero” and declared that he was being prosecuted for being white.
• On Twitter, far-right personality Ian Miles Cheong said: “Daniel Penny was charged because he is white and Jordan Neely is black. If the races were reversed, or if they were both the same race, this wouldn't be an issue at all and everyone would be praising Daniel for his heroism in that train.” 

Right-wing media figures contributed to and promoted Penny’s legal defense fund:

• Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk called on his Twitter followers to “give what you can” to support Penny in his “unjust prosecution.” 
• Ingraham advertised Penny’s defense fund, reading comments from donors and saying he has “enormous public support,” as a chyron underneath claimed that his donation page “reveals the true America.” 
• Daily Wire host Candace Owens said she would have helped the “hero” if she was on the subway with Neely and insisted that her audience follow in her footsteps by donating to Penny’s defense.
• Newsmax host Rob Schmitt celebrated the fundraiser’s success, saying “Daniel Penny’s defense fund is growing as basically everybody with common sense in this country realizes that this is an atrocity against him.” 
• Right-wing commentator Tim Pool personally donated $20,000 to Penny’s legal fund, calling him “the Subway Good Samaritan.” Pool later said his donation was made to support “another major culture war victory,” arguing, “Daniel Penny doesn’t deserve to spend even a minute behind bars.”
• Fox contributor Tammy Bruce touted a personal donation to Penny and called it a “statement” against his prosecution, which she claimed was “a message for no one to help anyone else” in New York City. 

Right-wing media’s close relationship with vigilante justice 

Penny is far from the first vigilante killer to receive the full backing of conservative media. After Kyle Rittenhouse shot three people, killing two, at an August 2020 Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, right-wing media figures similarly jumped to his defense, soliciting donations and painting him as a victim who engaged in justified self-defense. Drew Hernandez — a frequent Tucker Carlson guest who has worked with Turning Point USA, Steve Bannon, and Infowars — even served as a witness for Rittenhouse’s defense.

Since the Kenosha shooting, Rittenhouse has turned into a conservative icon and used his new platform to advocate for other vigilantes. Appearing on Tucker Carlson Tonight in April, Rittenhouse and Carlson petitioned Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to pardon Daniel Perry, another right-wing media darling who was found guilty of murdering a Black Lives Matter protester in July 2020 after prosecutors revealed a history of messages in which he called protesters “monkeys” and threatened to kill them. 

With a campaign of support behind him, Penny has joined the ranks of George Zimmerman, Travis and Gregory McMichael, Andrew Lester, Byron Smith, and various vigilante patrols and right-wing militias whose extrajudicial violence has been excused by conservative media.