Subway Chokehold Case Highlights Systemic Failures and American Divisions

On May 1, 2023, an unhoused Black man named Jordan Neely boarded a New York City subway car. Famous for years as a Michael Jackson impersonator, Neely was in severe crisis that afternoon, shouting threats and alarming passengers. Fellow rider Daniel Penny placed him in a chokehold, killing him on the train floor.

The fatal encounter touched off immediate public outrage and protests across New York City, including a rally on May 24, 2023. Beyond the immediate shock, the case exposed deep political fissures and system-wide breakdowns in public safety, mental healthcare, and law enforcement.

Journalist Anand Giridharadas spent over two years investigating the background of the fatal encounter. He set out to write a narrative “that would take us to the heart of America and what it means to live in this country, in this moment.” Giridharadas observed that when tragic real-world events are reduced to internet outrage, “human beings become caricatures.”

Institutional Failures and Escalating Crises

Neely’s interactions with law enforcement spanned over a decade, starting with minor infractions associated with living unhoused in New York, such as jumping turnstiles and sleeping outdoors. Over time, his circumstances deteriorated into violent offenses, including assaults and punching a woman in the face, leading to charges and time at Rikers Island.

Both prosecutors and defense attorneys eventually agreed to send Neely to a Bronx rehabilitation facility as part of an alternative-to-incarceration program. However, Neely walked out of the treatment center, leaving an active warrant for his arrest.

In April 2023, just weeks before his death, Neely was acting erratically on a subway platform at Coney Island. While outreach workers and police officers interacted with him, neither group recognized his identity or realized he was wanted for leaving his court-mandated program. He slipped away into the night, remaining on the streets until the fatal May 1 encounter.

Legal Outcome and Political Symbolism

In December 2024, a jury deadlocked on a second-degree manslaughter charge against Penny. After prosecutors dismissed that count, Penny was acquitted of criminally negligent homicide.

Following his acquittal, Penny swiftly became a prominent public figure. Vice President-elect JD Vance invited him to attend the Army-Navy game alongside President-elect Donald Trump. Soon after, a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley hired Penny as a partner on its American dynamism team, which focuses on investments in national interest startups like drones and weapons systems.

Giridharadas noted that supporters framed Penny’s actions around a specific narrative: “The system wasn’t there, the system wasn’t responsive. Daniel Penny stepped into a void and did what he had to do, took matters into his own hands because of this void.” A similar thematic argument surfaced on the political left during jury deliberations, following the high-profile case of Luigi Mangione, where commentators argued individuals were taking matters into their own hands after feeling abandoned by broken systems.