Fox News Audience Cheers as Sean Hannity Discusses Jordan Neely's Death

Fox News host Sean Hannity discussed the death of New York homeless person Jordan Neely, resulting in cheers from at least one member of his live audience.

Neely was tackled by multiple commuters on a New York City subway train earlier this week and was subsequently killed. The 30-year-old was yelling and pacing back and forth on an F train in Manhattan on Monday afternoon when he was apprehended. A video of the incident posted online showed a U.S. Marine veteran lying underneath Neely and holding him in a headlock position for several minutes.

Neely, a Michael Jackson impersonator, lost consciousness during the struggle and was later pronounced dead at a hospital. His death has sparked both praise and condemnation for those who intervened.

A clip that has since gone viral on Twitter shows the moment an audience member from The Sean Hannity Show cheers as the Fox News host brings up the incident. The video has been viewed more than 250,000 times.

While showing the viral clip, Hannity said: "Take a look at your screen and, after making violent threats, acting erratically, a mentally ill homeless guy with a long history of violent crime was subdued by a bystander, a 24-year-old Marine vet."

At least one member of the audience then cheers and begins clapping. Hannity pays it no attention and goes on to defend the commuters who intervened. He warned that this incident was being politicized.

A Fox News spokesperson told Newsweek that, despite Hannity defending the commuters, he also addressed the tragic nature of the incident.

Hannity said: "Now, the homeless man, his name is Jordan Neely. He lost consciousness during the incident. He later, sadly, tragically died. He's a homeless guy. He's got mental problems. My heart goes out to him and his family. Now, of course, it's a tragedy on every level."

Outrage over Neely's death has continued to grow. Some have criticized it as a deadly overreaction to a person suffering from mental illness, while others have defended the 24-year-old Marine veteran. He was taken into custody and released without charges. He has not been publicly identified.

During his show, Hannity also dismissed the concerns of Democratic New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who took to Twitter to condemn the death and highlight her frustrations at the Marine.

In a tweet, Ocasio-Cortez wrote: "Jordan Neely was murdered. But bc [because] Jordan was houseless and crying for food in a time when the city is raising rents and stripping services to militarize itself while many in power demonize the poor, the murderer gets protected w/ [with] passive headlines + no charges. It's disgusting."

While showing this tweet, Hannity said on air: "You have far-left politicians like AOC wasting no time at all rushing to judgment, politicizing the death, claiming that Neely was murdered in cold blood.

"They are now demanding that D.A. [New York County District Attorney] Alvin Bragg, you know cut-'em-loose-Bragg, press charges," he added.

"But this man was not the innocent street performer that AOC and her friends want you to believe." Hannity said that Neely had a long list of previous criminal activity, and had been arrested over 40 times.

A New York City police spokesperson told Newsweek that Neely's record has 42 prior arrests, dating between 2013 and 2021. They include four for alleged assault, while others involved accusations of transit fraud and criminal trespass. At the time of his death, Neely had one active warrant for an alleged assault in connection with a 2021 incident.