NEW YORK >> In the days since Luigi Mangione was charged with murder for shooting a top health insurance executive, more than a thousand donations poured into an online fundraiser for his legal defense, with messages supporting him and even celebrating the crime .
“Wanted” posters with the faces of CEOs have appeared on walls in New York. Websites sell Mangione merchandise, including hats with “CEO Hunter” printed in black. And some social media users have raved about his smile and six-pack abs.
Mangione was charged with murder for killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a father of two, in a brazen shooting Dec. 4 outside a Manhattan hotel ahead of an industry conference, sparking a five-day manhunt for the masked attacker.
The crime he is accused of has been widely condemned, but the Ivy League-educated, photogenic 26-year-old has become, in certain circles, a disturbing mix of folk hero, celebrity and online heartthrob. His support has seemingly only increased since his arrest on Monday.
Most of the messages on the crowdsourcing fundraising website GiveSendGo reflect the deep frustration of many Americans with the U.S. health care system, in which patients can be denied certain treatments and reimbursements depending on their insurance coverage, as well as general anger over rising income inequality and rising executive pay .
“Denying people health insurance is murder, but no one is charged with this crime,” one donor wrote, calling the killing a “justified murder.”
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Several others wrote simply: “Deny, defend, deny” – the words reportedly written on the shell casings found at the scene and intended to reference tactics some insurers use to avoid paying out claims.
More than $54,000 has been raised on GiveSendGo alone as of this morning.
Felipe Rodriguez, a former NYPD detective sergeant, expressed dismay at the response.
“They made him a martyr for all the problems people were having with their own insurance companies,” said Rodriguez, now an associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. “I mean, who hasn’t had problems with their insurance? But he’s a stone-cold killer.”
Mangione is being held in Pennsylvania on gun and document forgery charges while prosecutors in New York are seeking his extradition. His attorney said he plans to plead not guilty to the charges in Pennsylvania.
FRUSTRATION AND ANGER
On Wednesday, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said police had matched a gun found on Mangione to bullet casings found at the crime scene and his fingerprints to a water bottle and energy bar wrapper found nearby.
Other evidence includes handwritten documents found in his possession that portray his alleged crime as a legitimate response to what he saw as corporate greed, some media outlets have reported.
Mangione lashed out at himself as he was led into a courthouse on Tuesday, shouting, among other things, “…totally out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people!”
Americans pay more for health care than residents of any other country, and data shows that spending on insurance premiums, deductibles, drugs and hospital services have increased over the past five years.
Health insurers like UnitedHealth mostly manage health benefits on behalf of employers and the government, which have a say in what services and medications are covered.
According to friends and social media posts, Mangione suffered from chronic back pain that interfered with his daily life. However, it is unclear whether his personal health played a role in the shooting.
“It's hard to underestimate the anger and fear people have toward their insurance companies,” said David Shapiro, a former FBI agent and professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.
Shapiro said he had never seen a similar reaction to Mangione, but added: “Given the mood of the country and the ease of cheering this anonymously on the Internet, it's not that far-fetched.”
On TikTok, users shared videos and photos of Mangione's outburst with laudatory messages such as “This man is an absolute legend” and “Class consciousness is rising.”
Several websites sold T-shirts with his face and slogans such as “FREE LUIGI” and “In this house Luigi Mangione is a hero, end of story.” Others sold hats that read “Don’t Deny My Coverage.”
“Deeply disturbing”
However, support was far from universal.
Several commenters on social media pointed to Mangione's privileged background as a member of a prominent family in Baltimore, Maryland, compared to Thompson's working-class upbringing in rural Iowa, and said the murder was an example of how anti-capitalist rhetoric can incite violence . Others described how their health insurance paid for life-saving treatment.
On Wednesday, UnitedHealth Group Inc. CEO Andrew Witty sent employees a letter praising Thompson. “Brian was one of the good ones,” he wrote. “I'll miss him. And I’m incredibly proud to call him my friend.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Monday condemned those who valued Mangione, calling the reaction “deeply disturbing.”
“In America, we do not kill people in cold blood to settle political differences or express a point of view,” he said.
Speaking on a panel at the Reuters NEXT conference in New York on Wednesday, executives from Pfizer and Amazon said healthcare companies are taking a step back to better understand patients' experiences.
“Our healthcare system needs to get better… There are a lot of things that should cause great outrage,” said Vin Gupta, chief medical officer of Amazon Pharmacy. “It is also true that (the killing) should not have happened. This false moral equivalence cannot exist in our discourse.”
