New York subway passenger chokehold death sparks protests

Protesters are gathering in New York City to call for justice for Jordan Neely, a subway passenger who died on Monday after a man placed him in a chokehold.

Video of the encounter showed Mr Neely, 30, struggling as another man grabbed him and pinned him on the ground.

New York City officials have said the death was a homicide.

They have questioned and released the 24-year-old US Marine who restrained him.

Police and prosecutors will now decide whether to charge him.

Mr Neely was a popular Michael Jackson impersonator who frequently performed in Times Square. He was unhoused and suffering from mental health issues, according to US media.

Mr Neely was a "very talented black man who loves to dance", his aunt, Carolyn Neely, wrote in a GoFundMe page to raise money for his funeral service.

"Jordan deserves justice. He was loved," Ms Neely told the BBC.

A group of demonstrators gathered in the subway station where Mr Neely died on Wednesday.

One of the demonstrators, Kyle Ishmael, a 38-year-old who lives in Harlem, said the video of Mr Neely's death "disgusted" him.

"I couldn't believe this was happening on my subway in my city that I grew up in," he told BBC's US partner, CBS News.

Protesters are expected to gather on Thursday outside the Manhattan District Attorney's office to call for charges to be filed against the 24-year-old, according to local outlet ABC 7.

The incident took place on Monday afternoon on the F-line train in the SoHo section of Manhattan.

A video taken by a freelance journalist shows the former Marine holding the 30-year-old man around the neck for two minutes and 55 seconds.

Witnesses reportedly said Mr Neely was acting erratically before the man restrained him, yelling that he did not have food or water and would not mind going to jail.

Two other riders in the video are also seen restraining his arms. Mr Neely lay motionless after all three men let go of him. He was later taken to hospital and pronounced dead.

In the GoFundMe page, Ms Neely said Jordan Neely struggled after his mother, Christie Neely, was murdered in 2007.

Her body was found stuffed in a travel bag underneath a bridge in the Bronx, and her boyfriend was later convicted of murder, according to local reports.

Mr Neely testified in the trial, saying his mother's relationship with the boyfriend had been "crazy" and "a fight every day", according to local outlet the Jersey Journal.

Mr Neely's death sparked an argument between New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

On Wednesday, the mayor tweeted that "any loss of life is tragic", but that there was "a lot we don't know about what happened here, so I'm going to refrain from commenting further".

Ms Ocasio-Cortez said the statement marked "a new low: not being able to clearly condemn a public murder because the victim was of a social status some would deem 'too low' to care about".

New York's Governor Kathy Hochul has commented on the incident saying it was clear that Mr Neely was not going to cause harm to people on the subway with his behaviour.

"No one has the right to take the life of another person," she told reporters on Thursday.

"It was a very extreme response," she added.