Weeks After Acquittal, Daniel Penny Gets Job at Venture Capital Firm Whose Co-Founder Is Outspoken Trump Advocate

Mar. 15, 2025

Daniel Penny.Photo:John Lamparski/Getty

John Lamparski/Getty

According to his employee page on the firm’s website, Penny will work on Andreessen Horowitz’s American Dynamism team as a deal partner.

Penny, a Marine veteran, gained national attention when a video of him putting Neely, a Black man with a history of mental illness who was experiencing homelessness, in a chokehold aboard a Manhattan F train in May 2023 went viral.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said that Neely had verbally threatened passengers on board.

Prosecutors said Penny, after approaching from behind, kept the chokehold on Neely for several minutes. Eventually Neely stopped moving and he was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

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Neely’s death sparked outrage, leading to protests across New York City. But many GOP figures, including Vice President J.D. Vance defended Penny and praised his actions aboard the train.

Andreessen Horowitz’s website states that the American Dynamism team, on which Penny will be working, “is committed to identifying and supporting civic-minded founders ready to lead America.”

source: people.com