Justice dies when politicians turn vigilantism into a campaign stunt

On his way to see whether his expected presidential bid can play in Peoria, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis upstaged himself with a newsmaking tweet

- Clarence Page

“We stand with Good Samaritans like Daniel Penny,” he tweeted Friday about the former Marine accused in the May 1 killing of Jordan Neely, a homeless man who had been shouting in the faces of other passengers on a New York City subway.

“Let’s show this Marine ... “DeSantis tweeted, “America’s got his back.”

At least DeSantis does — and he’s not alone. When I last visited the sad case of the “subway vigilante,” as some are calling Penny, he was not yet arrested or charged, despite a groundswell of people calling for it after the video was broadcast. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, among others, wanted Penny-charged with murder.

But I agreed with Mayor Eric Adams that simple justice, requires that we wait for the police to investigate before jumping to conclusions. Penny deserved to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, I felt. I’m kind of old-fashioned that way.

But, by the time the Manhattan district attorney’s office charged him with second-degree manslaughter, Penny found a bigger groundswell of financial and online support from high-profile Republicans such as DeSantis, Fox News personalities, and other conservatives.

Many hailed Penny as a “hero” and “good Samaritan” and raised nearly $2 million from Kid Rock and others for his legal defense through an online fund.