Vox Sentences - The killing of Jordan Neely

Jordan Neely’s death was a homicide; Iran seizes two oil tankers in a week.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

What we know about Jordan Neely’s death

 Barry Williams for NY Daily News via Getty Images

• On Wednesday, the New York City medical examiner ruled that the death of Jordan Neely, a Black man who was choked on a New York subway, died in a homicide caused by compression to the neck. But they left determining culpability to the legal system. [Guardian / Edward Helmore]
• Witnesses say Neely, 30, was behaving erratically and shouting at passengers but had not attacked anyone when a 24-year-old man approached him from behind and took him to the ground in a chokehold. Neely was later pronounced dead at a hospital. [CNN]
• Hundreds protested after police questioned and released the 24-year-old man, a Marine veteran, without charges. Authorities haven’t identified him but promised a full investigation. [USA Today / Trevor Hughes]
• Neely was known for impersonating Michael Jackson and had recently faced homelessness and mental health issues. [New York Times / Maria Cramer and Chelsia Rose Marcius]
• Neely’s death has raised questions about NYC’s treatment of the unhoused and how law enforcement responds to violent crimes. [The Intercept / Akela Lacy]

Iran captures second oil tanker

• Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on Wednesday seized a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker in the Persian Gulf, marking its second capture in a week. [Quartz / Aurora Almendral]
• The tanker was traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil passes, when Tehran forced it to return to Iranian waters. Iran captured another tanker in the Gulf of Oman on April 27. [Reuters]
• Maritime experts say the seizures could have been in retaliation for the US capturing a China-bound ship that reportedly held sanctioned Iranian oil. [Financial Times]
• Tehran has attacked several vessels in the region since Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Iran nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions in 2018 that continue under the Biden administration. [Associated Press / Jon Gambrell]

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President Joe Biden’s campaign plans to improve outreach, ground operations, and messaging to regain support from Latino voters in 2024. [Vox / Christian Paz]

• Thursday, a federal jury found Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and three members guilty of seditious conspiracy for the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. The charge carries up to 20 years in prison. [The Hill / Rebecca Beitsch]
• Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose tuition payments Republican megadonor Harlan Crow made for a grandnephew Thomas helped raise, prompting further questions about the judge’s ethics. [ProPublica / Joshua Kaplan, Justin Elliott, and Alex Mierjeski]
• China’s domestic tourism returned to pre-pandemic levels after tourists made 274 million trips during a five-day break that ended Wednesday. [BBC]

“He was weak, he said he hadn’t eaten or had a drink. He was at the end of his wits. He had three men over him. You’re telling me those three men couldn’t have restrained him ’til the next stop? It’s New York, get off the train.”

[Activist Alice O’Malley on Neely’s death / Guardian]

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