Longtime race hustler Al Sharpton said Thursday that he spoke to Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg (D.) about prosecuting the people who restrained a homeless man who was threatening subway passengers, causing the man's death.
"I've talked to the DA's office," Sharpton told MSNBC host Joy Reid. "They must investigate and prosecute to the full extent of the law."
The homeless man, Jordan Neely, on Monday started throwing garbage at subway passengers and making threats, shouting, "I'll hurt anyone on this train." Multiple passengers restrained him, with one putting him in a headlock, which caused Neely's death.
Sharpton and other media personalities falsely claimed that Neely, who has a long criminal history that includes kidnapping and assault, was "impersonating Michael Jackson" before his death.
"To let this go forward in any way is to sanction vigilante-ism [sic] in this city," Sharpton thundered. "This is really giving legitimacy to those that can say, 'I can get up on the subway if somebody's making noise and do what I want to do, including causing their death.'"
Sharpton rose to fame in the 1980s and 1990s through racial rabble-rousing, spearheading the Tawana Brawley rape hoax and the anti-Semitic Crown Heights riot. He has since reinvented himself as "one of the most influential figures within the Democratic Party and media establishment," the Washington Free Beacon reported, with Vice President Kamala Harris last month telling him, "I love you."
Other left-wingers have also demanded that New York City officials act against the people who restrained Neely. Far-left congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) on Wednesday blamed New York City mayor Eric Adams (D.) for Neely's death, saying that Adams "cut the very services that could have helped" Neely. New York City comptroller Brad Lander (D.) and Massachusetts congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D.) struck similar notes.
None of the left-wingers mentioned New York City's massive crime spike, which started after progressives in the State Legislature passed far-left bail reform laws.
Bragg, a "criminal justice reform" advocate, may listen to Sharpton's demand to prosecute the passenger who put Neely in a headlock. While police let the passenger go without charges, Bragg's office announced Wednesday that it is investigating the man.