Daniel Penny Says He Can’t Be Racist Because He Planned Trip To Africa – Mother Jones

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AP/ Jeenah Moon

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In his first interview since being charged with second-degree manslaughter in the murder of Jordan Neely, Daniel Penny said he couldn’t be “a white supremacist” because he was, among other things, ” planning a road trip through Africa”. In an interview with the New York Post, the ex-Marine said the racism allegations against him were “a bit comical”.

“Anyone who has met me can tell you, I love all people, I love all cultures. You can tell that by my background and all my travels and adventures around the world,” Penny said. “I was actually planning a road trip through Africa before this happened.”

Neely’s family said the interview was nothing more than a pro-Penny press release.

We don’t care how many vacations he’s had,” Donte Mills, an attorney representing the Neely family, told NBC News. “We want to know why he didn’t let go of that chokehold until Jordan was dead.”

On May 1, Penny, who is white, put Neelya Black, a homeless man who was allegedly ranting at passengers on the F train, in a fatal chokehold. Neely reportedly had a long history of mental health issues which were exacerbated after the murder of her mother in 2007. On May 12, Penny was formally charged with second-degree manslaughter.

While Penny might claim not to be white supremacist or “activist”, the far right is in love with him. Since her identity was revealed, many right-wing trolls alongside your more mundane conservatives have endorsed Penny as a “hero.” In the political sphere, high-profile Republicans like Gov. Ron DeSantis and Rep. Matt Gaetz have openly supported Penny, both vocally and financially. As my colleague Noah Lanard previously reported, Penny supporters have raised over $2 million in donations through the Christian crowdfunding website, GiveSendGo.

Pretending you’re not racist because you’re planning a road trip in Africa is silly. Anyone who has ever opened a history book knows that racists have long traveled the continent, just look at one of the countless British colonies in African countries or the bloody legacy of the transatlantic slave trade.

If Penny was looking for sympathy, this explanation doesn’t help.

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