Three people, reportedly protesters demanding justice for Jordan Neely, were taken into custody at a New York City rally held in support of Daniel Penny Wednesday.
Video from the rally showed a group of elderly veterans waving American flags in Collect Pond Park in Lower Manhattan.
Steps away were a group of protesters holding yellow signs with the message “Justice for Jordan Neely” and Neely’s image as NYPD officers stood along a metal barricade separating the two groups.
“This is not worth it,” a man yelled to the veterans, gesturing to move away from the protesters.
Marine veteran Daniel Penny is walked out of the New York Police Department 5th Precinct in Lower Manhattan, May 12, 2023. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images)
Footage showed a protester gesturing and shouting in the face of officers stationed at the rally in support of Penny Wednesday. Officers were seen escorting at least two of the demonstrators away from the park with their hands behind their backs.
“We’re out here because we’re not going to let it go down in history that nobody was fighting for Jordan Neely. That nobody was fighting for the homeless people on the subway systems,” another female protester shouted.
Additional video seemed to show a confrontation between officers and a man shouting “F— Daniel Penny.”
An NYPD spokesperson told Fox News Digital the three people in custody were transferred to the 7th Precinct, and charges remain pending. But no additional details were immediately available.
The clamoring and jeers of protesters could be heard as Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who serves the tens of thousands of Long Islanders who travel into Manhattan each day, addressed supporters of Penny, who is charged with manslaughter in Neely’s May 1 chokehold death aboard a subway train.
Penny, a 24-year-old Marine veteran, was questioned by police that day and released, but cell phone video, which showed two other men holding Neely’s arms as Penny held Neely in a chokehold for several minutes, went viral online.
Police arrest counterprotesters supporting Jordan Neely at a rally held in support of Daniel Penny (FNTV screengrab)
A medical examiner later ruled Neely’s death a homicide, even though prosecutors noted Neely was yelling threats toward other subway passengers when Penny intervened.
“We feel that the prosecution of Daniel Penny is an outrage. It’s a miscarriage of justice. And this is a problem that has existed in Manhattan since Alvin Bragg has been district attorney,” Blakeman said at a podium over the noise of protesters. “It’s not a problem in Staten Island. It’s not a problem in Queens. It’s not a problem in Brooklyn. It’s not a problem in the Bronx.
“It’s a problem here in Manhattan, with a Manhattan district attorney. It’s not a problem with Mayor Adams, who wants this to be a safer city. Again, it’s somebody who should be the chief law enforcement officer of Manhattan, but he puts the rights of criminals over those of law-abiding citizens and victims of crimes.
“Good Samaritans should be encouraged. Good Samaritans should be an important part of the fabric of our community. But here we have Daniel Penny, a Good Samaritan who is being prosecuted coming to the aid of his fellow Americans who are riding the subway in a peaceful manner.”
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Neely, 30, was homeless and had more than 40 prior arrests, but his supporters have demanded Penny be charged with murder. Penny, who is charged with second-degree manslaughter and is free on $100,000 bond, spoke out for the first time Saturday, saying in an interview his choice to step in had nothing to do with race.
