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AOC escalates calls to brand uncharged, untried Marine a ‘murderer,’ subway choking a ‘public execution’

May 5, 2023 | | Print Article

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ratcheted up the incendiary rhetoric over a mentally unstable homeless man being subdued by a former Marine who placed him in a chokehold that eventually led to his death, as calls mount for the person responsible to be criminally charged.

Jordan Neely, 30, reportedly had a breakdown after his mother was murdered years ago. He also had a history of mental issues and a lengthy rap sheet. He had autism and schizophrenia and reportedly refused to take his meds, according to reports.

The homeless man had been arrested at least 44 times on charges such as assault and disorderly conduct. He was allegedly screaming and acting in an aggressive manner on a New York City subway train when a former Marine subdued him, holding him in a chokehold for approximately 15 minutes which led to his death on Monday. The subduer was taken into custody and released without charges. His identity has not been released but the left, led by Ocasio-Cortez, wants his head on a platter.

According to the Daily Mail, Juan Alberto Vasquez, who was on the train and photographed the incident, said Neely yelled, “I don’t have food, I don’t have a drink, I’m fed up. I don’t mind going to jail and getting life in prison. I’m ready to die.”

(Video Credit: Daily Mail)

Neely’s death was ruled a homicide on Wednesday by the coroner. The Manhattan district attorney is now deciding on whether to bring charges or not.

Ocasio-Cortez has already branded the former Marine as a “murderer,” earning a rebuke from New York City Mayor Eric Adams. She’s now escalating that rhetoric even further and is accusing him of conducting a “public execution” of Neely. She’s demanding that the leftist district attorney go after him with everything he’s got.

“Jordan Neely was murdered. But bc Jordan was houseless and crying for food in a time when the city is raising rents and stripping services to militarize itself while many in power demonize the poor, the murderer gets protected w/ passive headlines + no charges. It’s disgusting,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.

“It is appalling how so many take advantage of headlines re: crime for an obsolete ‘tough on crime’ political, media, & budgetary gain, but when a public murder happens that reinforces existing power structures, those same forces rush to exonerate&look the other way. We shouldn’t,” she added.

The leftist congresswoman also blasted Mayor Eric Adams’ comments regarding Neely’s death, “This honestly feels like a new low: not being able to clearly condemn a public murder because the victim was of a social status some would deem ‘too low’ to care about. The last sentence is especially rich from an admin trying to cut the very services that could have helped him.”

Adams called Ocasio-Cortez “irresponsible” for her comments on the incident which started a war of words between the two Democrats.

“I don’t think that’s very responsible at a time when we’re still investigating the situation. Let’s let the DA conduct his investigation with the law enforcement officials, to really interfere with that is not the right thing to do,” the mayor said on “CNN Primetime” on Wednesday night.

Ocasio-Cortez kept up her tirade on Twitter.

“I have yet to hear a real explanation from any official hesitating to condemn the killing of Jordan Neely about what makes condemning this violence so ‘complicated.’ Killing is wrong. Killing the poor is wrong. Killing the mentally ill is wrong. Why is that so hard to say?” Ocasio-Cortez disingenuously asked.

“Neely’s last words were literally about how going to jail was easier than accessing the social safety net support to get back on his feet and lead a life. Yet leaders want to raise his record as if that warrants a public execution on the subway? What have we come to?” she tweeted on Thursday.

“I represent Rikers. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard from both COs and the incarcerated that there are people who commit petty crimes because their easiest way to get a bed and doctor. For many vulnerable communities – especially the mentally ill – we make living in jail easier than living out of it. That’s what happen when we defund everything but the carceral state,” Ocasio-Cortez railed.

Protesters gathered at New York City’s Broadway-Lafayette subway station on Wednesday to protest Neely’s death. They chanted “Black Lives Matter!” “Justice for Jordan Neely!” “F*** Eric Adams!” and “The homeless matter!”

Democrats were in a frenzy following Neely’s death, many of them inciting violence just as Ocasio-Cortez seemingly did.

“Black men seem to always be choked to death,” Ocasio-Cortez’s fellow “Squad” member Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) proclaimed on Wednesday. “Jordan Neely did not have to die. It’s as simple as that. Yet we have another Black man publicly executed.”

New York City Comptroller Brand Lander called the Marine responsible for subduing Neely a “vigilante.”

“Jordan Neely was lynched,” New York State Sen. Jabari Brisport declared. “He had no food, no water, no safe place to rest. He had the audacity to publicly yell about that massive injustice, so they killed him.”

“It was vigilantism,” he said in another tweet.

“A man named Jordan Neely was choked to death in public on the subway this week while people watched and even cheered. This is horrific. The constant demonization of poor people and people in mental health crisis in our city allows for this barbarism. It is making our city sick,” New York State Senator Julia Salazar charged despite the fact that no one was seen cheering.

“This was a lynching,” she incited.

The New York Working Families Party contended Neely was “brutally murdered.”

“Jordan Neely loved to dance and perform,” the socialist group claimed on Twitter. “On Tuesday, while suffering a mental health crisis, he was choked to death while people watched and cheered. Jordan needed care. Instead, he was brutally murdered. This is not who we are as New Yorkers.”

“NYC’s 2nd Black Mayor just All Lives Mattered the murder of a mentally ill Black man who was killed by a blood thirsty vigilante. Representation though, right?” New York City Councilman Chi Ossé tweeted.

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