(NewsNation) — Daniel Penny, the Marine who was acquitted in the death of a fellow New York subway passenger he put in a chokehold, has been hired by a prestigious Silicon Valley venture capital firm weeks after he was set free.
The firm, Andreessen Horowitz, announced Penny’s position saying he will join their “American Dynamism team.”
“Daniel is a Marine Corps veteran who served his country, and in a frightening moment in a crowded New York City subway car, did a courageous thing,” Andreessen Horowitz partner David Ulevitch said in a statement.
Neely family attorney: Daniel Penny verdict sends apathetic message
Penny is expected to work on a team that supports “national interests” including the aerospace, defense and manufacturing sectors, according to the company.
In an internal email to staff, Ulevitch said “He was acquitted of all charges. Beyond that, it has always been our policy to evaluate the entire person and not judge them for the worst moment in their entire life,” according to The Free Press, which first reported the news.
Penny was charged in 2023 by the Manhattan district attorney’s office with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide after a video of him fatally choking another passenger, Jordan Neely, on the subway for six minutes circulated online.
Neely, an agitated but unarmed homeless man, did not touch any passengers. One said he made lunging movements that alarmed her enough that she shielded her 5-year-old from him, which caused Penny to intervene.
A jury found Penny not guilty in Neely’s death in December.
Vice President JD Vace had invited Penny to be his guest at the Army-Navy college football game days after he was acquitted.
In a post on X, Vance called Penny’s hiring, “Incredible news.”
Andreessen Horowitz has about $45 billion in assets under management and its co-founder Marc Andreessen has been a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump and has served as an adviser to the incoming administration, reported Bloomberg.
