Vice President JD Vance celebrated the inside track that the distinguished undertaking capital company Andreessen Horowitz employed Daniel Penny, a Marine veteran who used to be acquitted two months in the past of a negligent murder price in New York Town.
“Incredible news,” Vance stated in a put up on X, responding to information of the rent, which used to be first reported by means of Bari Weiss’s The Unfastened Press.
Penny, a former structure scholar, used to be discovered no longer in charge by means of a jury on a criminally negligent murder price in early December 2024. He had in the beginning been charged with manslaughter within the dying of 30-year-old Jordan Neely, a homeless guy who have been shouting at passengers on a New York subway automotive, after he held him in a chokehold for a number of mins in Might 2023.
After his acquittal, Penny instructed Fox Country host Jeanine Pirro that he used to be in a “vulnerable position” and feared for the security of himself and others on the time of the incident.
“He was just threatening to kill people. He was threatening to go to jail forever, go to jail for the rest of his life,” Penny stated within the December interview, including, “And now, where I’m on the ground with him, I’m on my back in a very vulnerable position if I would have just let go.”
The incident received vital media consideration on the time and used to be a polarizing episode for New York Town and far of the wider citizens.
David Ulevitch, a normal spouse on the VC company, commented on Penny’s movements at the subway in an interior memo despatched to workers on Tuesday pronouncing the rent, The Unfastened Press reported. Ulevitch didn’t reply to The Hill’s request for remark at the memo, however he reposted on X The Unfastened Press’s reporting at the matter.
“I believe, as I know many of you do, that Daniel acted with courage in a tough situation,” Ulevitch reportedly wrote within the memo. “He was acquitted of all charges. Beyond that, it has always been our policy to evaluate the entire person and not judge them for the worst moment in their entire life.”
“We believe in Daniel and are excited to have him as part of our team,” Ulevitch added.
Penny used to be employed to enroll in the company’s “American Dynamism” group, which is “a network of civic-minded founders” who “are solving the biggest problems facing America,” in step with the company’s site. The web site lists Penny as a “Deal Partner” at the group.
Ulevitch, within the memo, stated Penny “will learn the business of investing” and can “work to support our portfolio companies.” He additionally stated he imagines Penny will lend a hand give a boost to relationships with the Division of Protection and the general public protection sector, The Unfastened Press reported.
Andreessen Horowitz’s founders have been a number of the high-profile Silicon Valley supporters of President Trump’s marketing campaign. Marc Andreessen, probably the most company’s co-founders, performed a key function in serving to form the Trump management, in step with The Washington Submit, which reported that Andreessen used to be “quietly and successfully recruiting candidates for positions across Trump’s Washington” following the 2024 election.
Penny has in large part stayed out of the highlight since he used to be acquitted in December, however he used to be Vance’s visitor on the Military-Army faculty soccer recreation in a while after his acquittal.
“Daniel’s a good guy, and New York’s mob district attorney tried to ruin his life for having a backbone,” Vance stated on the time, including, “I’m grateful he accepted my invitation and hope he’s able to have fun and appreciate how much his fellow citizens admire his courage.”
