Daniel Penny's defense fund has raised over $1 million following his manslaughter charge after he choked out a wanna-be Michael Jackson subway passenger.
Penny, a former U.S. Marine, killed Jordan Neely on a Manhattan subway train on 1 May, after putting the man into a chokehold.
It all started when Neely behaved erratically and threatened the passengers before Penny came to others' rescue and subdued him.
Due to Neely's death, Penny now faces a second-degree manslaughter charge, but was released on $100,000 bail on Friday.
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Citing the massive bail fee, Penny's attorneys created a GiveSendGo campaign with the name 'Daniel Penny’s Legal Defense Fund' to show their support.
An impressive sum of $1,400,314 had been raised by Saturday night (13 May) thanks to the contributions of over 23,000 donors, who chipped in an average of $821 per minute.
The surge went up to more than $1,100 per minute before the site servers became jammed and locked for the users.
GiveSendGo's co-founder, Jacob Wells told The Post: "There was a big surge in traffic and our servers were temporarily overwhelmed."
Following the wave of donations, supporters also left numerous messages praising Penny for his controversial actions.
One donor wrote on the site: “The man is a hero, he took down a deranged lunatic.”
“I wish this Marine was on the train with me every time,” wrote another donor — who donated $100, “Thank you thank you.”
Alfred Sletten who contributed $10 to the cause, wrote: “Attacking this hero is a travesty of Justice, New York and the United States should be ashamed.”
Marcia Mulcahy, Penny's neighbour of four years on Long Island called him a 'nice kid'.
She said: “Just look at the [fundraiser] to see how people feel about him.
“We’re all contributing to it.”
“He was just trying to help on the subway,” she said. “It was obviously a scary situation and it all went wrong. But he didn’t go in there trying to hurt anyone. He was trying to help.”
Justine Baldwin, Penny's cousin lashed out after the following charges were announced and said: “It’s disgusting. Here’s a young man who served our country.
"What about the other two gentlemen on the subway who were helping him [restrain Neely]? They haven’t even been named."
"He was a handsome, fun kid who could always be counted on when you needed help.”
Penny served in the Marines for four years, being deployed abroad twice, and achieving the rank of sergeant before receiving an honourable discharge in 2021, according to his lawyer, Thomas Kenniff.
They are confident that Penny will be 'absolved of any wrongdoing' and is no stranger to such adversities.
“He enlisted into the Marine Corps out of high school. While many of his peers opted for the comforts of college life, Daniel swore an oath to defend his country," Kenniff told The Post.
“He is prepared to face this case with that same resolve, and humbled to know he is not walking that path alone.”
Later, Neely's aunt confirmed that he suffered from schizophrenia alongside PTSD and depression prior to his death.
Rashi Agarwal