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NYC Crime

Outrage mounts over chokehold death of Michael Jackson

impersonator in clash with veteran U.S. Marine on NYC subway
By Larry McShane and Thomas Tracy
New York Daily News • May 03, 2023 at 11:50 am

Outrage is mounting over the death of a mentally disturbed Michael Jackson impersonator who
died on a Manhattan subway train in a caught-on-camera clash with a veteran U.S. Marine who
put him in a chokehold.

Friends and elected officials decried the death of Jordan Neely on Wednesday, insisting the
homeless busker didn’t deserve to die. Neely, 30, was a familiar sight around town, performing
in Times Square and on subways as Michael Jackson.

“NYC is not Gotham,” city Comptroller Brad Lander tweeted. “We must not become a city
where a mentally ill human being can be choked to death by a vigilante without consequence.
Or where the killer is justified & cheered.”

Jordan Neely is pictured before going to see the Michael Jackson movie, "This is It," outside the Regal Cinemas in Times Square in 2009.
(Andrew Savulich/New York Daily News)

Neely was on an F train heading toward the Broadway-Lafayette stop in NoHo when he began
acting erratically around 2:30 p.m. Monday , passengers told police. He yelled and threw
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garbage at commuters, prompting an argument with the 24-year-old Marine vet, cops said.
New York
The quarrel turned into a brawl as the train entered the station. Buses of migrant seekers
from Texas arrive in NYC
20m
During the fight, the Marine put the victim in a chokehold and tried to restrain him.

A video of the confrontation shows the Marine with his left arm around Neely’s neck as they Yankees
Anthony Volpe embraces
struggle. being a pest on the bases
23m
A second man helped restrain Neely, who turned on his side and continued kicking his legs
until he finally stopped moving about two minutes into the disturbing video.
NYC Crime
Staten Island baby dies from
Neely fell unconscious on the train as the fentanyl and cocaine after
Marine held him in the chokehold. A spending night with 3-time
felon father, death ruled
conductor called for police, the video shows. homicide
27m
First responders took Neely to Lenox Hill
Hospital, where he died.

Neely has a documented mental health

history with the NYPD, had been arrested
more than 40 times and was a suspect in a
2021 assault, authorities said.

Friends and fans of the Michael Jackson

impersonator said Neely was homeless and
hungry when he acted out on the Manhattan
train.

The Daily News Flash Jordan Neely of Manhattan is pictured while performing as
Weekdays Michael Jackson at the 59th. St. subway station in 2011. (Mariela
Lombard/for New York Daily News)
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Rafael Shimunov, co-host of the radio show Beyond the Pale on WBAI, said that all Neely did
was throw his jacket to the ground and ask straphangers for food and water.

“(He was) a hungry New Yorker choked to death by a grinning Marine who is being celebrated
as a hero by NYPD and press,” Shimunov tweeted. “His offense? ‘Aggressive speech.’”

Neely, 30, was on an F train heading toward the Broadway-Lafayette station in NoHo when he began acting erratically around 2:30 p.m.
Monday, passengers told police. (Susan Watts/New York Daily News)

The Marine Corps veteran was taken in for questioning but released without charges as the
investigation continues. As he held the victim in the chokehold he asked witnesses to call 911,
police sources said.

When reached by phone, he declined to comment.

“I’m not answering any questions,” he said. “I appreciate it, but I’m not answering any
questions.”

Jordan Neely is pictured before going to see the Michael Jackson movie, "This is It," outside the Regal Cinemas in Times Square in 2009.
(Andrew Savulich/New York Daily News)

Police and Manhattan prosecutors are awaiting the results of an autopsy to determine if

criminal charges should be filed against the veteran Marine.

A spokeswoman for the city Medical Examiner said the autopsy results were pending
Wednesday.

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