Black Lives Matter activist Hawk Newsome sparked controversy after speaking out following the acquittal of Daniel Penny in the high-profile New York City subway chokehold case.
Daniel Penny acquitted of manslaughter
After days of deliberation, jurors ultimately decided to clear Penny of the criminally negligent homicide charge.
The decision came after they deadlocked last Friday on the more severe manslaughter charge, prompting prosecutors to drop that specific accusation.
Without the manslaughter charge, Penny, who potentially faced up to four years behind bars, was left with only the lesser accusation.
On Monday, following a relatively brief deliberation, the jury announced its “not guilty” verdict on the remaining charge.
Penny, a 26-year-old defendant, was initially charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in connection to the 2023 death of Jordan Neely.
According to authorities, Penny restrained Neely with a chokehold on a New York City subway car in May 2023 after Neely allegedly threatened passengers.
The case became further complicated when the jury struggled to agree on the manslaughter charge.
After failing to reach a unanimous decision, the judge dismissed it, directing the jury to deliberate solely on the remaining count.
From there, jurors reviewed evidence over four days, submitting multiple notes to the judge for clarification and further definitions regarding the charges.
To return a guilty verdict, the jury had to be convinced that Penny acted recklessly and used unnecessary force. The exact cause of Neely’s death was a central point of dispute during the case.
Prosecutors claimed that Penny’s chokehold lasted too long, citing evidence presented by their medical witness, Dr. Cynthia Harris.
Harris initially determined Neely’s death was inconclusive after performing the autopsy. However, she later revised her conclusion to “asphyxia” after reviewing video evidence of the incident.
Contradicting her findings, forensic pathologist Dr. Satish Chundru presented a different perspective.
He asserted that Neely’s death resulted from multiple factors, including the “effects of sickle-cell crisis, schizophrenia, the struggle and restraint, and synthetic marijuana.”
Steven Raiser, Penny’s defense attorney, strongly defended his client during closing arguments. He framed Penny as someone who acted in a challenging situation, asking jurors, “Who do you want on the next train ride with you? The guy with the earbuds minding his own business who you know would be there for you if something happened?”
“Or perhaps you just hope that someone like Jordan Neely does not enter that train when you are all alone, all alone in a crowd of others frozen with fear?”
Raiser didn’t stop there. He turned much of the blame outward, stating, “This case is about a broken system, a broken system that does not help our mentally ill or our unhoused. In fact, it is that broken system that led us, that is interwoven into the very fabric of this case.”
Hawk Newsome calls for vigilantism
Black Lives Matter activists expressed outrage about the verdict, with some protests escalating outside the courthouse.
Leading the charge was Hawk Newsome, who delivered a fiery speech that many interpreted as an incitement to violence.
“It’s like everybody else has vigilantes! We need some black vigilantes!” Newsome shouted, adding, “People want to jump up and choke us and kill us for being loud?! How about we do the same when they attempt to oppress us?”
Rejecting calls for peaceful protest, Newsome told onlookers, “I’m tired. I know y’all lookin’ for us to be like, ‘Oh! Go and march! Go and march!’ No. This weekend, I want you to hold a community event, everywhere from the Bronx to Houston to Seattle to Florida. Black people, hold community events, and talk about what you need!”
Hawk Newsome accuses jurors of racism
Earlier, in a discussion with reporters, Newsome accused Penny’s supporters of harboring racism.
On Friday, he said that anyone who thinks Penny is innocent has “racism in their heart.” He went further, suggesting the jury itself may have been tainted by racially motivated bias.
“Logically, if you pick a white supremacist jury specialist, and you pack a jury with white people, obviously you think race has a specific role in this case,” Newsome argued. “And obviously you are looking for that one white supremacist hold out.”
Meanwhile, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg voiced respect for the jury’s ultimate decision.
He stated that their thorough deliberation and careful weighing of evidence validated why prosecutors brought the case forward.
“Their lengthy deliberation—and the totality of the facts and the evidence—underscored why this case was put in front of a jury of Mr. Penny’s peers,” Bragg emphasized in a formal statement.
Jurors reportedly spent close to an hour deliberating on the criminally negligent homicide charge before delivering their unanimous verdict.
I’m pretty sure those American citizens afraid for their lives are thankful for Daniel Perry, not only a patriot, but a hero. The blm terrorists are once again on the wrong side. America is grateful for a non-biased New York jury. God bless the jury.