A crowdfunding effort for the ex-Marine charged with second-degree manslaughter over the death of a homeless schizophrenic on a New York City subway has soared past $1million.
The fund, set up by Daniel Penny's attorneys, says it will be used to pay for 24-year-old Long Island native's legal fees and for 'any future civil lawsuits that may arise, as well as expenses related to his defense.'
The fundraising platform being used is named GiveSendGo which until now was better known for being used by those charged with participating in the January 6th Capitol riot and by supporters of Kyle Rittenhouse.
The page hit the $1million mark in the hours after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis tweeted a link to the page. On Friday, Penny, 24, was freed pending trial hours after turning himself in at a police precinct and appearing in court to answer criminal charges. He did not enter a plea.
Bail bondsman Ira Judelson told DailyMail.com Penny was 'very quiet and nervous' and was 'respectful' as he was arrested and arraigned.
“There was a big surge in traffic and our servers were temporarily overwhelmed,” Jacob Wells, co-founder of the giving platform GiveSendGo, told The Post.
Penny, 24, who placed Jordan Neely in a fatal chokehold on a Manhattan subway train on May 1, was arraigned Friday on a second-degree manslaughter charge and released on $100,000 bail.
But more than 23,000 donors — who mostly remained anonymous — have flocked to the GiveSendGo campaign created by his attorneys to show their support.
By Saturday night, the “Daniel Penny’s Legal Defense Fund” site had raised a total of $1,400,314 — with donations averaging $821 a minute at one point.
The surge of gifts swelled to more than $1,100 per minute before the site locked up briefly earlier in the day.
Hundreds of supporters left heartfelt messages on the website, praising Penny and denouncing Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s prosecution.
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