Daniel Penny pleads not guilty in NY subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely

Daniel Penny arrives in court on Wednesday

A former US Marine who placed a homeless man in a fatal chokehold on a New York City subway train has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges.

Daniel Penny, 24, was indicted in court on Wednesday on counts of second-degree manslaughter and negligent homicide.

Witnesses said Jordan Neely, 30, was shouting at other subway passengers and asking for money when Mr Penny pinned him down for several minutes on 1 May.

Video of the confrontation sparked protests and counter-demonstrations.

Mr Penny faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the manslaughter charge. He was arrested on 12 May and released on $100,000 (£80,000) in bail.

• What happened to Jordan Neely? Who is Daniel Penny?

He has said he was acting in self-defence in the incident on a northbound F train subway car in Manhattan.

Witnesses said Mr Neely was shouting about how he was hungry and willing to return to jail or die. There is no indication he physically attacked anyone.

The incident was filmed by bystanders, and a video captured by a freelance journalist on the train shows Mr Penny holding Mr Neely around the neck for two minutes and 55 seconds.

He continued to restrain Mr Neely, including after he stopped moving, say prosecutors.

Emergency responders tried to resuscitate him, and he was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The city medical examiner said his death resulted from compression of the neck and ruled it a homicide.

Jordan Neely's death sparked protests in New York City

In a statement on Wednesday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said he hopes the Neely family is "on the path towards healing as they continue to mourn this tragic loss".

Mr Penny did not address reporters as he entered the Manhattan court for Wednesday's brief hearing.

Earlier this month, Mr Penny addressed the incident on social media and said he did not intend to kill Mr Neely.

"I was scared for myself but I looked around there were women and children, he was yelling in their faces saying these threats. I just couldn't sit still," he said.

Supporters of Daniel Penny rallied in New York City last month

Outside court, attorneys for Mr Penny expressed confidence he will ultimately be found not guilty.

"There is not a living, breathing soul in Manhattan that has not experienced a variation of what not only Mr Penny but other individuals experienced on that subway car," lawyer Thomas Keniff said.

The defendant was ordered to return to court on 25 October for a pre-trial hearing.

A self-defence argument was the most logical way for Mr Penny to proceed, attorneys told the BBC.

The case is "dependent on whether or not there was an imminent harm posed to himself or others, and whether or not his conduct was excessive", said Dmitriy Shakhnevich, a criminal defence attorney and professor at John Jay Law School.

"That's really it," he said. "There's nothing else in this case."

That standard would be quite high, said Lance Fletcher, a former prosecutor who now works as a New York defence attorney.

"They have to say, he killed this guy and it wasn't justified, and no reasonable person would think it was justified," Mr Fletcher said. "And that's going to be tough."

Perception "has a huge impact on the case", said Mr Fletcher, "since this case is all about justification".

Mr Neely was a Michael Jackson impersonator who frequently performed in Times Square.

He had 42 arrests on charges such as evading fares, theft and assaults on three women, according to US media reports.

Mr Neely began experiencing mental health issues after his mother's murder by her boyfriend in 2007, his aunt, Carolyn Neely, told the New York Post last month.

New York Mayor Eric Adams has said Mr Neely's previous offences highlight the need to improve the city's mental health system.

The case has become politically charged with conservatives - including Florida Governor and presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis - praising Mr Penny as a hero.

His detractors, such as US civil rights leader Reverend Al Sharpton, have characterised Mr Penny as a vigilante in the mould of Bernard Goetz, a white man who shot and injured four black men on a New York subway in 1984.

Mr Penny's supporters have raised nearly $3m (£2.37m) for his legal defence.

But Neely family attorney Donte Mills said on Wednesday: "For everyone who thought donating $3 million would somehow make this go away or buy his pass: It's not going to happen. You can ask for a refund."