Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis praised a New York City jury's verdict that acquitted a former U.S. Marine sergeant in the death of a homeless man on a subway car.
Daniel Penny, 26, who used a chokehold to restrain Jordan Neely on a New York City subway car, was found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide Monday in Neely's death.
Penny has said he never intended to kill Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man with a history of mental illness, during their encounter on an uptown train on May 1, 2023.
"The acquittal of Daniel Penny is clearly the just and correct verdict," DeSantis posted on X. "I must admit I was skeptical that a jury in New York City would reach a unanimous not guilty verdict, and the jury deserves credit for doing the right thing.
"Meanwhile, is there a worse prosecutor in America than [District Attorney] Alvin Bragg?"
Shortly after Neely's death, DeSantis helped raise money for Penny's defense.
"We must defeat the [progressive billionaire George] Soros-Funded DAs, stop the Left's pro-criminal agenda, and take back the streets for law-abiding citizens," DeSantis wrote on X while sharing a fundraiser website for Perry's defense. "We stand with Good Samaritans like Daniel Penny. Let's show this Marine ... America's got his back."
The GiveSendGo page on Monday showed that more than $3.2 million was raised.
Bragg also prosecuted former President Donald Trump for falsifying business records that resulted in a conviction in May on 34 felony counts.
Trump pleaded not guilty in the case, which he called a politically motivated attempt by Bragg to interfere with his presidential campaign.