JD Vance invites Daniel Penny to attend Army-Navy game with him and Trump after Marine vet cleared in subway chokehold death

Daniel Penny, the man recently acquitted in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely, will be the personal guest of Vice President-elect JD Vance at the Army-Navy football game scheduled for Saturday.

Penny is expected to join Vance and President-elect Donald Trump in his suite at the game set in Landover, Maryland, according to a report shared by Vance Friday. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is also expected to join Trump and Vance in the same suite for the annual grudge match, per multiple reports.

“Daniel’s a good guy, and New York’s mob district attorney tried to ruin his life for having a backbone,” Vance wrote on X. “I’m grateful he accepted my invitation and hope he’s able to have fun and appreciate how much his fellow citizens admire his courage.”

Penny’s attorney, Thomas Kenniff, said Vance texted him to congratulate them, which is when he invited Penny to the game. 

“We were all shocked,” Kenniff said. “Danny’s first reaction was that ‘there are a lot of veterans more deserving than me’. Steve Raiser and I responded, that you don’t say no to the incoming Vice President of the United States.”

“Danny looks forward to attending,” Kenniff added.

Penny, 26, was acquitted of all charges this week related to the killing of Neely, a homeless man, in May of 2023. Neely was threatening passengers on a subway car in New York City and Penny intervened by putting him in a chokehold.

Witnesses said Neely was acting erratic and screaming “I’m ready to die,” while throwing trash at passengers and saying he wanted to kill someone.

Penny put him in a chokehold for several minutes while the train was moving and officers responding to the scene said Neely had a faint pulse when they arrived, but died shortly after.

“Within those 15 seconds, I mean, there was contemplation,” Penny told Fox News’ Jeanine Pirro in his first interview after the charges were dropped. “Should I just wait? Should I go to a different car? Should I move away? But I saw the looks on — on the mother, on the, on the school kids, on the other passengers, women, children.

“The threats were imminent and something had to be done,” he added. “[Passengers] were holding each other and just — and people were stuck to their chairs. They felt pinned, and I felt pinned. I felt nervous, I felt scared.”

A second degree manslaughter charge against Penny — which had a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison — was dismissed, and he was later found not guilty of negligent homicide, which had a maximum of 4 years in prison.

“I have not said much about this case out of fear of (negatively) influencing the jury,” Vance posted Monday on X after the verdict. “But thank God justice was done in this case. It was a scandal Penny was ever prosecuted in the first place.”

Meanwhile, Trump was heavily invested in the case, continually asking for updates during the trial, a source with knowledge of the situation said. Penny and Trump even talked one night while the jury was deliberating, they added. 

Penny was immediately spotted drinking beer at a bar in celebration of his acquittal on Monday.

Additional reporting by Larry Celona and Kirsten Fleming