EXCLUSIVE: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ political team hit back Friday night after Al Sharpton criticized the 2024 presidential hopeful during a eulogy for a man who died in the New York City subway system.
New York authorities said Jordan Neely, 30, died on May 1 from compression of the neck after he was placed in a chokehold by Daniel Penny, a 24-year-old Marine veteran, who is charged with one count of second-degree manslaughter.
DeSantis, also a veteran, praised Penny on Tuesday for taking action to protect others, saying, “I think to be able to step in as a good Samaritan and protect people — I think that that’s something that was the right thing to do. And I don’t think he should be prosecuted.”
Sharpton gave a eulogy for Neely at Harlem’s Mount Neboh Baptist Church Friday morning, slamming DeSantis for his comments.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and Al Sharpton (Fox News)
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“I know, Governor DeSantis, that you’re putting black history and LGBTQ and Latino out of the school, but I have a Bible to put in the governor’s office,” Sharpton said. “Because apparently, you don’t know what the Good Samaritan was. Jesus told the parable of the Good Samritan.”
DeSantis press secretary Bryan Griffin slammed Sharpton for using his eulogy to attack the governor.
“Democrats never miss an opportunity to take a political jab and try to further divide our country — even at a funeral,” Griffin told Fox News Digital. “Save your breath, Rev. Sharpton. These attacks simply don’t work on Governor DeSantis. He is not afraid to speak the truth.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks after signing three education bills on the campus of New College of Florida in Sarasota, Fla. on Monday, May 15, 2023. (Thomas Simonetti for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
President Joe Biden prepares to walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., Sunday, March 5, 2023, to commemorate the 58th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” a landmark event of the civil rights movement. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
JORDAN NEELY DEATH: AL SHARPTON SAYS ‘THEY PUT THEIR ARMS AROUND ALL OF US’ IN FUNERAL SPEECH
Sharpton said during Neely’s funeral that “they put their arms around all of us.”
“We’re not in here because of natural causes, we’re here because of unnatural policies,” Sharpton said.
Fox News’ Adam Sabes contributed to this report.
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