The defense fund for accused Manhattan subway choker Daniel Penny surpassed $2 million on Monday — including a $5,000 contribution from controversial rocker Kid Rock.
The campaign on GiveSendGo stood at more than $2.2 million on Monday evening, with other generous donations coming from political commentator Tim Pool, who chipped in $20,000, and Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who donated $10,000, according to the site.
“Mr. Penny is a hero,” Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie, wrote on the site. “[Manhattan District Attorney] Alvin Bragg is a POS — Kid Rock.”
His rep confirmed the donation to Fox News.
Penny, 24, has reeled in donations from more than 47,000 supporters on the fundraising site as he prepares to fight a second-degree manslaughter charge in the May 1 death of Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man with a history of mental illness.
“The importance of this support has gone beyond the dollar amount raised and has come to symbolize a statement of support for the right and duty to stand up for each other when faced with an imminent threat,” Penny’s attorney, Steven M. Raiser, told The Post on Monday.
Speaking on Fox News later Monday, Raiser maintained that Penny “put his life at risk” by intervening when Neely began acting “violently.”
“The mindset is pretty simple: He was fearful for the safety of those passengers,” Raiser told host Jeanine Pirro. “So when he acted, his mindset was to keep his fellow passengers safe from attack.”
The lawyer also denied that race was a factor in his client’s decision to grab Neely, who was black. Penny is white.
“As to race, it’s simply not the motivation for Danny,” Raiser insisted. “He is the one who put himself in danger to save, who? All the people on that train. Black people, brown people, white people, it didn’t matter to Danny. Danny put his life at risk to save all those people.”
Penny, who surrendered last week, is free on $100,000 bail pending a return court appearance in July.
The former US Marine was seen on viral video grabbing Neely in a chokehold on an F train in Lower Manhattan.
In the footage, the homeless man eventually stops moving and is left lying on the floor of the train while Penny and others look on.
According to witnesses, Neely became disruptive when he boarded the train, prompting other straphangers to move away from him before Penny grabbed him from behind.
The city’s medical examiner later ruled the death a homicide caused by “compression of neck (chokehold).”
The incident galvanized the city, with protesters staging several demonstrations in the Big Apple demanding Penny’s arrest and justice for Neely.
Lawyers for Neely’s family have maintained that Penny should face a more serious murder charge.
Funds raised by the GiveSendGo campaign will go to Penny’s defense team at Raiser & Kenniff, according to the page, which was set up by the attorneys.
Any additional money will be donated to a mental health advocacy program in New York City, the page says.
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