Third day of Daniel Penny trial features heated testimonies and demonstrations

Amid the high drama of Daniel Penny’s manslaughter trial, an intense incident occurred in the hallway outside the courtroom on Thursday.

During a morning break in court proceedings, a supporter of Jordan Neely – the man who tragically died after being put in a chokehold by Penny on an F train – began speaking loudly in the gallery, leading a court officer to request him to continue his conversation outside the courtroom.

Instead of complying with the officer’s request, the supporter escalated the situation.

Once in the Manhattan Supreme Court hallways, the man began shouting at the officer, “f–k your rules.”

The defiant supporter continued his rant and confrontation with the officer, who remained calm as a crowd gathered around them.

The verbal altercation went on for a few minutes before the man eventually left.

This disruptive outburst was part of a series of disruptive incidents during the third day of the trial.

Earlier, a woman in the gallery began sobbing uncontrollably during witness Moriela Sanchez’s testimony and had to be escorted out, with her cries still audible from the courtroom.

Another individual audibly cried when a photo of Neely was presented to the jurors.

As a result, Judge Maxwell Wiley had to remind the audience not to “visibly or audibly react. The jury in this case is entitled to that.”

It is evident that this entire trial – where Penny, 26, is facing up to 15 years in prison for second-degree manslaughter in the death of Neely – has become more of a spectacle of activism than a pursuit of justice.

Penny was charged just eleven days after the incident, as Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg caved to pressure from politicians like Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and other advocates demanding action in this racially charged case.

It is notable that the prosecution called Johnny Grima, a former homeless man and activist working with migrants and the homeless, to testify.

Grima mentioned that before boarding the uptown F train, he was checking on homeless individuals in Tompkins Square Park. He witnessed the incident unfold on a different subway car and tried to intervene by pouring water on Neely’s forehead to revive him, but Penny rejected his help.

During questioning by the prosecutor, Grima was talkative, but he became hostile and disrespectful when defense attorney Thomas Kenniff questioned him.

Grima’s bias against Penny was apparent, as he repeatedly accused Penny of “murdering” Neely and described his actions as careless. Kenniff was able to highlight inconsistencies in Grima’s testimony compared to his earlier statements to the grand jury.

Despite Grima’s clear bias, there was minimal intervention from the judge during his testimony.

After the jurors exited, Kenniff requested a mistrial due to the unfair circumstances of the trial.

“There’s no longer any way that my client can get anything resembling a fair trial at this point given what has happened over the last few days,” Kenniff asserted.

Considering the current atmosphere, it seems unlikely that a fair trial could be achieved.