- More than $300,000 has been raised for a legal defense fund for former Marine Daniel Penny.
- Penny was captured on video placing Jordan Neely, a homeless subway rider, in a fatal chokehold.
More than $300,000 has already been raised in a legal defense fund for Daniel Penny, the former Marine who was captured on video placing Jordan Neely, a homeless New York City subway rider, in a fatal chokehold earlier this month.
Attorneys representing 24-year-old Penny set up the fundraiser on the Christian crowdfunding website GiveSendGo.
Donations for the fund continued to quickly pour in on Friday morning as Penny surrendered to authorities to face a charge of manslaughter in connection to Neely's death.
"Funds are being raised to pay Mr. Penny's legal fees incurred from any criminal charges filed and any future civil lawsuits that may arise, as well as expenses related to his defense," reads the donation page for Penny.
It adds, "All contributions are greatly appreciated. Any proceeds collected which exceed those necessary to cover Mr. Penny's legal defense will be donated to a mental health advocacy program in New York City."
Penny turned himself in to the New York Police Department's 5th Precinct in lower Manhattan on Friday morning and was arrested. The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said on Wednesday Penny would be charged with second-degree manslaughter for Neely's death.
Minutes after Penny surrendered, his attorney, Thomas Keniff, told reporters his client turned himself in "voluntarily and with the sort of the dignity and integrity that is characteristic of his history of service to this grateful nation."
Witnesses to the deadly May 1 incident on board an F train said Neely, a 30-year-old Black man, was screaming about being hungry and thirsty before Penny, a white man, put him in a deadly chokehold.
There has been no evidence so far that Neely physically attacked anyone on the train, and the incident has sparked protests throughout the city.
Meanwhile, a fundraiser set up by Neely's family to cover his funeral expenses had raised more than $59,000 as of Friday morning.
Neely "was a very talented [B]lack man who loves to dance," the GoFundMe page reads. "Performance was his thing."
"We just want justice for him, please give what you can with your heart," it continues. "He has so many fans, he will always be loved and remembered. We love you Jordan."