Sharpton speaks at funeral for subway chokehold victim

Sharpton invoked Neely’s love of Michael Jackson, along with his subway and street performances dressed as the late King of Pop, while repeatedly asking how the ex-Marine accused in the killing wasn’t immediately arrested.

Sharpton, during his nearly 30-minute address, recounted the caught-on-video killing as his voice rose to a crescendo.

“Let me get this right,” he said. “A boy on a train is screaming for help, and somebody comes up from behind ... and claims self defense. And you go to the precinct and they let you go.

“He killed an unarmed man who hadn’t threatened nobody,” continued Sharpton. “The violence was when you choked Jordan to death ... what happened to Jordan was a crime.”

Defendant Daniel Perry was only arrested in the death last Friday as authorities investigated, and now faces a charge of second-degree manslaughter.

The crowd erupted in cheers as Sharpton wrapped up, with mourners chanting “No justice! No peace!”

Neely’s white casket, flanked by floral arrangements and trimmed in gold, stood before the altar inside the crowded church where his father and other relatives said their farewells.

The mourners sang “What A Friend We Have in Jesus” to start the service where Carolyn J. Ruff arrived from Chicago to celebrate Neely’s life and demand justice.

“I thought it was my duty to show up and advocate for the family,” said Ruff, 75, founder of Black Lives Matter Women of Faith. “We definitely want people to know this can’t happen again.”

Yusef Salaam, one of the wrongly-convicted Central Park Five, described Penny as “judge, juror and executioner” before addressing the defendant’s supporters.

“It all happened on camera,” said Salaam, now a candidate for the City Council. “And this was being lauded by those who can’t see our humanity.”

Sharpton delivered his remembrance of Neely nearly three weeks after his death and one week after the arrest of ex-Marine Penny.

“This is nothing new, us being murdered like this,” said a woman outside the church, holding a sign reading “They Murdered Jordan Neely” before the service began. “Mental illness? We were brought here in chains!”

The veteran activist was among the first to call for criminal chargesagainst the now-accused killer in the headline-making confrontation. Sharpton again demanded the arrests of two other men seen holding the victim down on the train.

Neely died after the lethal scuffle inside a Manhattan subway car on May 1 where the 24-year-old ex-Marine took the homeless and mentally ill man to the train floor.

The medical examiner declared the death a homicide, finding Neely died from compressions to the neck as Penny applied the hold with his left arm wrapped around the other man’s throat.

The chilling video showed the victim struggling with Penny, his legs flailing, until Neely finally stopped moving.

Neely was once a fixture in Times Square and aboard city subways as a Jackson impersonator. The victim, who struggled with mental health issues, became loud and boisterous aboard an F train Penny took him to the floor.

Cellphone footage shows the passenger and two other individuals restraining Neely until he passed out. First responders were unable to revive Neely, who later died at Lenox Hill Hospital.

Penny was charged last Friday at a Manhattan court appearance and remains free on $100,000 bail.

While many city residents cheered the arrest and blasted Penny as a vigilante, other New Yorkers offered their support and their cash to the defendant.

Penny’s legal defense fund received more than $2.6 million in the last week. ————— (C)2023 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.