Just a few months after being acquitted of the criminally negligent homicide of Jordan Neely, a mentally ill Black man, after putting him in a chokehold on a crowded train, Daniel Penny modeled on a catwalk in an event titled “Dressed to Kilt.”
Penny, 26, appeared at the show in Manhattan on the night of April 5. Dr. Geoffrey Scott Carroll, the founder and chairman of Dressed to Kilt, explained his reasons for featuring Penny in the show exclusively to The Independent.
“Daniel Penny was invited to walk in the show in recognition of his service as a U.S. Marine and the values he represents. His presence aligns with this year’s tribute to the 250th anniversary of the United States Marine Corps, and we were honored to have him represent the branch.“
“We honor the commendation he received from the U.S. Marine Corps League and respect their decision to award him the 'Semper Fidelis' honor. Dressed to Kilt has long been a proud supporter of the Navy SEAL Foundation, and we continue to welcome and celebrate veterans from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces as part of our commitment to honoring service and sacrifice.”
Dressed To Kilt was co-founded in 2003 by Dr Carroll and the late Sir Sean Connery. The recent show took place in The Church of the Heavenly Rest in New York on April 5.
The New York Post reports that Penny walked to the sound of Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero.” The site noted that Carroll introduced the former Marine as a “hero.”
“Far from being a villain, this man was a hero to all the inhabitants of that subway car,” Carroll said.
‘[Penny] leaped into action as a passenger on a subway car when a potential assailant started threatening women, children and elderly people with a knife,” he added.
An anonymous Manhattan jury cleared Penny of a criminally negligent homicide charge in the death of Neely, 30, in December 2024. The jury had deadlocked last week on a more serious manslaughter charge, which was dismissed.
“I’ll take a million court appearances and people calling me names and people hating me, just to keep one of those people from getting hurt or killed,” Daniel Penny told Fox News in a clip that aired a day after the verdict.
Meanwhile, scores of New Yorkers protested the trial outcome, holding signs and chanting Neely’s name in a Manhattan square.
“Yes, he was acting erratically. But personally, I don’t believe being mentally unwell and being homeless is a crime worthy of death,” said one of the organizers, Sean Blackmon.
Penny, who served four years in the Marines, put Neely in a chokehold for about six minutes after Neely had an outburst that frightened riders on a subway car on May 1, 2023. Penny is white. Neely was Black.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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