Today (June 28), Daniel Penny, 24, pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide during a court appearance. As previously reported by REVOLT, on May 1, the white former United States Marine was filmed placing Jordan Neely, a Black unhoused street performer, in a fatal chokehold during an incident on a New York subway car.

According to CNN, Penny’s hearing lasted less than five minutes and the only time he spoke was to say “not guilty.” Earlier this month, he was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury for Neely’s death and is due back in court on Oct. 25. The 24-year-old previously walked free on a $100,000 bond, and the outlet noted that his conditions were not adjusted at today’s hearing. Penny is still not in custody.

Following today’s court appearance, Penny’s attorney, Thomas Kenniff, maintained his client’s innocence. “All of the evidence that we’ve seen so far, all of the evidence that we expect to see, shows that Danny acted reasonably, under very difficult circumstances in a confined environment that none of us would want to find ourselves in,” the lawyer claimed. Neely was unarmed and had no physical interactions with any passengers. However, at the beginning of the month, Penny told Fox News Digital the victim “would have killed somebody” if he didn’t intervene when the 30-year-old Black man allegedly yelled about not having access to adequate food and housing.

Steven Raiser, another lawyer for Penny, said his defense team plans to argue that it is “every New Yorker’s right and duty to defend each other when faced with grave harm.” Kenniff added, “We are a long way off from trial, but all the evidence we’ve seen is that our client acted under the law. [We are] confident our client acted within the confines of the law.” A medical examiner classified Neely’s death as a homicide.