The charges for the 8 women and four men include obstructing governmental administration, disorderly conduct and assault.The rally went off the rails when dozens of protesters jumped onto the roadbed and then later prevented the doors of a subway car from being shut, according toService was interrupted and one fed-up straphanger begged officers to remove the protesters while the rabble-rousers verbally berated the man, according to footage of the incident.
Dozens of protesters jumped onto the roadbed and prevented the doors of a subway car from being shut.Police at one point began evacuating the station leading to protesters pushing up against police officers.Once the station was cleared, more chaos ensued on the street level when protesters blocked a street intersection.
The volatile protest came days after Neely, 30, was placed in a fatal chokehold by 24-year-old Marine Daniel Penny after the homeless man yelled at subway riders and tossed trash, according to police and an eyewitness account.Neely’s death was ruled a homicide by the city’s medical examiner.Penny and other passengers and the Marine acted in self-defense. His attorneys also claimed he “never intended to harm” Neely.
The NYPD said anyone with tips on the six protesters being sought can call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA .