On Saturday, dozens of protesters, angry over the death of a violent vagrant on a subway train, descended on a Manhattan subway station and jumped down onto the tracks preventing trains from arriving, the New York Post reported.
Video footage of the incident shows chanting protesters on the tracks of the Lenox Hill station as an oncoming Q train is forced to brake to avoid striking them.
Fearful that the protesters would get electrocuted on the third rail, the power was temporarily shut down at the Lenox Hill station.
Within minutes, police cleared the protesters off the tracks, allowing the Q train to roll into the station. However, the protesters then attempted to block commuters from leaving the train.
Another video from reporter Rebecca Brannan shows several protesters blocking the doorway to prevent commuters from exiting the car. One passenger aboard the train begged police officers to remove the protesters so he could get to work. The protesters then began berating the man.
After protesters grew aggressive with police officers, causing some brawls to break out, the police began evacuating Lenox Hill station. But the violent brawls continued on the street with protesters blocking the intersection. Police made at least seven arrests.
Jordan Neely, the schizophrenic vagrant with a long history of harassing and attacking passengers on subway trains died last Monday after a group of passengers attempted to restrain him after he threw trash at passengers and threatened violence. Daniel Penny, a 24-year-old Marine, was among those who attempted to restrain Neely by applying pressure to his neck, causing Neely to lose consciousness and die.
Penny was temporarily detained by police and released without charges.
On Thursday, Al Sharpton demanded that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg “investigate and prosecute” Daniel Penny.
In a statement on Friday, Penny’s lawyers said the 24-year-old acted with others to protect passengers after Neely began threatening Penny and others. They assert that Penny “never intended to harm” Neely.
