Prominent BLM Activist Behind Protests Targeting Daniel Penny, Attacking Jury Process

A charity run by a prominent Black Lives Matter activist is behind protests against Daniel Penny—the Marine veteran charged with the murder of a man on the New York subway last year—and undermining confidence in the jury ahead of its verdict, a Washington Free Beacon review of public records found.

Black Opportunities, which describes itself as "the new path forward to liberate black people from oppression," helped organize a group of roughly 50 demonstrators outside the Manhattan Supreme Court where Penny’s trial was held. There, members of the organization shouted "Murderer, Murderer" and waved signs that said "Convict Daniel Penny" and contained links to the Black Opportunities website.

Black Opportunities shares close ties with Black Lives Matter Greater New York, which has also been involved in organizing protests against Penny since his trial started in October. Both organizations were founded by longtime Black Lives Matter activist Hawk Newsome, who has taken to calling Penny the "Subway Strangler."

Penny was charged with second-degree manslaughter and negligent homicide in May 2023, days after his altercation with a homeless man named Jordan Neely on the subway. Neely entered Penny's car and began threatening those onboard before Penny put him into a headlock, which a medical examiner found was the cause of Neely's death. Prosecutors rested their case on Tuesday. The jury is currently deliberating a verdict.

Penny's arrest prompted many Americans to rally to his defense, calling him a good Samaritan who was protecting his fellow riders. Newsome has used other nicknames for the former Marine, labeling him a "white supremacist hero."

"It is safe to assume that Danny Penny ‘The Subway Strangler’ is embracing the celebrity that comes with being a race-based white supremacist hero," Newsome said in an Oct. 29 press release one day before the jury in the case was finalized. "Danny Penny shows up to court with a high-powered personal security team with three SUVs valued at over $250,000 collectively. And now he is using jury selection specialists who help defendants that hunt BLM protesters get away with murder."

Newsome has sought to instill doubt in the jury before it renders its verdict, calling the jury selection process "racist" in a Nov. 1 press release. Newsome alleges that Penny’s defense team struck a black woman from the jury "because of her purple hair."

"The allegations of racist practices in the jury selection process cannot be taken lightly!" Newsome said. "Especially when we consider that 8 of the 9 the Stranglers defense team chose we [sic] people of color."

Though Newsome is a prominent Black Lives Matter activist, he and his organizations don’t share official ties with Black Lives Matter Global Network, the national charity that raised $90 million during the George Floyd riots in 2020. Those funds were later used to purchase ritzy mansions and enrich the friends and family of its co-founder, Patrisse Cullors.

Newsome garnered headlines in 2021 for cutting ties with the national Black Lives Matter group and calling for an "independent investigation" into its finances. He launched Black Opportunities shortly thereafter.

But Black Opportunities is shrouded in financial secrecy as well. Although it currently accepts donations on its website, the IRS revoked its nonprofit status in May for failing to file any tax returns since its founding. No financial information about the group is publicly available, which nonprofits are required to provide.

Nor is it clear what charitable activities Black Opportunities engages in. Much of the organization’s website is dedicated to selling apparel, such as sweatshirts and t-shirts that say "F— THE MAYOR."

Even with those tax problems, some New York Democrats haven’t cut ties with Black Opportunities. In August, the organization held a block party in West Harlem that was sponsored by former New York City councilwoman Kristin Richardson Jordan (D.).

Newsome did not return a request for comment.

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