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US Marine veteran Daniel Penny, 24, is escorted in handcuffs...

Source: Pacific Press / Getty

Black Twitter didn’t hold back in response to Daniel Penny claiming that race didn’t have anything to do with why he put Jordan Neely in a fatal chokehold on an NYC subway train. 

MORE:Donors Rush To Thank Daniel Penny For Killing Jordan Neely As Online Fundraiser Generates Millions

During an interview with the New York Post, Penny told the publication that he wasn’t a racist and that race had nothing to do with the incident that ended in Neely’s death.

“I mean, it’s, it’s a little bit comical,” said Penny. “Everybody who’s ever met me can tell you, I love all people, I love all cultures. You can tell by my past and all my travels and adventures around the world. I was actually planning a road trip through Africa before this happened.”

Black Twitter didn’t take Penny’s words too kindly and even compared his statements to the “some of my best friends are black” defense often deployed by white people who are being accused of racism. 

One user wrote, “Well, this is a first.  He didn’t use the “I have Black friends,” excuse as evidence he’s not racist.  Instead Daniel Penny, murderer of Jordan Neely says: ‘I am not a white supremacist’ b/c before the murder he had planned a trip to Africa.”

Another user called out White America for accepting Penny’s claims that race wasn’t a factor. 

“This is all White America needs to excuse Daniel Penny, because that’s all they want. Much like Citibike lady, they don’t care how flimsy or nonsensical the excuse is, all they want is is to be able to scream at you, red-faced and spitting, about his planned road trip to Africa,” wrote the user.

Another user called out the ridiculousness of Penny’s claims he was planning a road trip through one of the world’s largest continents.

“Only a white supremacist like Daniel Penny would claim he was “planning a road trip through Africa as if it’s the same as backpacking through Amsterdam. Africa is a continent that is 11.7 million mi.² and consists of 54 countries, hardly a ‘road trip,’” he wrote.

Also during Penny’s interview with the New York Post, when given the chance to apologize to Neely’s family, Penny only responded that he was “deeply saddened by the loss of life” and that “It’s tragic what happened to him.”

Donte Mills, an attorney for the Neely family, also responded to Penny’s interview, calling it “an advertisement to soften the public’s view of Daniel Penny who choked Jordan Neely to death.” 

“We never called him a white supremacist, we called him a killer,” said Mills. “We don’t care how many vacations he’s been on. We want to know why he didn’t let go of that chokehold until Jordan was dead.”

Penny was arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter for placing Jordan Neely in a deadly chokehold for a reported 15 minutes on a subway train in New York City earlier this month.

SEE ALSO:

Jordan Neely’s Killer Had Help: Will The People Who Aided And Abetted Daniel Penny Be Charged Too?

NYC DA’s Office That Quickly Charged Jonathan Majors Takes Its Time Deciding If Jordan Neely Was Murdered

Black Twitter Roasts Daniel Penny For Using Africa Road Trip To Claim He’s Not Racist  was originally published on newsone.com