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A New York Black Lives Matter leader has called for “black vigilantes” to retaliate following Daniel Penny’s acquittal on Monday. Penny, a 26-year-old former Marine, faced charges of second-degree manslaughter and negligent homicide in connection with the 2023 death of Jordan Neely on a New York City subway after Neely was threatening passengers.

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“Just like everybody else has vigilantes, we need some black vigilantes,” New York BLM co-founder Hank Newsome said in the wake of the verdict. “People want to jump up and choke us and kill us for being loud. How about we do the same when they attempt to oppress us?”

“I’m tired. I know you’re looking for us to be like, ‘Oh, go and march. Go and march.’ No, this weekend, I want you to hold a community event everywhere from the Bronx to Houston to Seattle to Florida. Black people, hold community events and talk about what you need.”

The Daily Mail has more.

The homeless, mentally ill black man had been threatening to kill people and telling commuters he was willing to ‘go back to Rikers’ when Penny, then just 24, intervened and took him to the ground.

He held Neely in a chokehold, alternating between applying pressure and not, in an effort to keep commuters safe until police arrived.

Protesters have stood outside the courtroom every day of the mammoth trial. It took two weeks to even select a jury, followed by four weeks of evidence, and then six days of deliberations.

Those protesters called Penny the ‘subway strangler’ and warned that there would be ‘no peace without justice’, which Penny’s lawyer argued was a direct threat to jurors.

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Outside the courthouse on Monday, after calling for black vigilantes, Newsome addressed the protesters and expressed his love for them.

He singled out several by name who have been there ‘every day, in the freezing cold’ shouting insults at Penny.

Newsome told the crowd that black people could no longer rely on authorities to keep them safe or place value on their lives.

‘We patrol our community,’ he said. ‘We keep us safe.’

‘America will never fix the issue of black people because America needs a punching bag. They have designated us as the punching bag.

‘So, f**k America. How dare you laugh and cheer when someone gets away with murdering us. I don’t want a march. I want a step.

‘Racists: burn in hell.’

Newsome’s call for “black vigilantes” to retaliate against perceived racial oppression is deeply troubling, as it overlooks the facts of the case in favor of a race-driven narrative. His refusal to acknowledge the truth fuels unnecessary division and conflict.

Legal experts and witnesses agree that Penny should never have been charged in the first place. His actions were clearly in self-defense, and he took them to protect commuters from an escalating threat that Neely, who had been threatening passengers and even stated he was willing to “go back to Rikers,” posed. Penny’s decision to intervene by placing Neely in a chokehold until police arrived was both justified and heroic.

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Despite this, Newsome’s incendiary rhetoric amounts to a call for a race war, one that could further ignite tensions and incite violence. His rejection of peaceful protest in favor of vigilantism undermines the potential for meaningful dialogue and the pursuit of justice.

Even worse, the NAACP is echoing this rhetoric.