Authors: Joseph Akers, Rich McKay, and Brad Brooks
NEW YORK (Reuters) – More than a thousand donations have poured into an online fundraiser to bolster Luigi Mangione’s legal defense since he was charged with murder in the shooting death of a senior health insurance executive. , even celebrating criminal behavior.
In New York, “Wanted” posters with the CEO’s face are plastered on the walls. The site is selling Mangione merchandise, including hats with “CEO Hunter” printed on the bullseye. Some social media users are fascinated by his smile and six-pack muscles.
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Mangione was indicted for the Dec. 4 brazen shooting that killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a father of two, outside a Manhattan hotel before an industry conference. The murder charge sparked a five-day manhunt for the masked attacker.
His alleged crimes have been widely condemned, but the Ivy League-educated, photogenic 26-year-old has become in some circles a disturbing hybrid of folk hero, celebrity and internet fanboy. His support appears to have grown since his arrest on Monday.
Much of the information on the crowdsourced fundraising site GiveSendGo reflects the deep frustration many Americans have with the U.S. health care system — where some treatments and reimbursements can be denied depending on a patient’s insurance coverage — and a greater desire for increased revenue. Angry about widespread inequality and skyrocketing executive pay.
“Denying people health insurance is murder, but no one has been charged with it,” one donor wrote. He called the murder “justifiable homicide.”
Others simply wrote: “Deny, defend, give up” – words reportedly written on shell casings found at the murder scene and intended to invoke tactics some alleged insurance companies used to avoid paying claims.
As of Wednesday, GiveSendGo alone had raised more than $31,000.
Former NYPD sergeant Felipe Rodriguez expressed dismay at the response.
“They made him a martyr because of all the trouble people had with their insurance companies,” said Rodriguez, now an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. “I mean, who hasn’t had a run-in with their insurance? But he’s a stone-cold killer.”
Mangione is being held in Pennsylvania on firearms and forgery charges, and New York prosecutors are seeking his extradition. His attorney said he plans to plead not guilty to the Pennsylvania charges.
frustrated and angry
On Wednesday, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tish said police had matched a gun found in Mangione to shell casings found at the scene and matched his fingerprints to water bottles and energy bar packaging found nearby paper for comparison.
Other evidence included handwritten documents found on him that framed his alleged crimes as a legitimate response to what he saw as corporate greed, according to some media reports.
Mangione lashed out at himself as he was led into the courthouse on Tuesday, shouting: “…completely out of touch with reality and an insult to the intelligence of the American people!”
Americans pay more for health care than residents of other countries, with data showing that spending on insurance premiums, out-of-pocket costs, drugs and hospital services have all increased over the past five years.
Health insurance companies like UnitedHealth often administer health benefits on behalf of employers and governments, who have a say in which services and drugs are covered.
Mangione suffered from chronic back pain that affected his daily life, according to friends and social media posts, but it was unclear whether his personal health was related to the shooting.
“It’s hard to underestimate the anger and anxiety people feel toward 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 reaction like Mangione’s, but added: “Given the mood of the country and how easy it is to cheer anonymously on the Internet, it’s not that far-fetched.”
On TikTok, users shared videos and photos of Mangione’s outburst, with messages of praise such as “This man is an absolute legend” and “Class consciousness is on the rise.”
Several websites are selling T-shirts with his face on them, saying “Free Luigi” and “In this house, Luigi Mangione is the hero, end of story”. Others are selling hats that say “Don’t deny my reporting.”
‘deeply disturbing’
However, support is by no means universal.
Several commentators 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 a reflection of An example of how capitalist rhetoric incites violence. Others described how their health insurance plans covered the cost of life-saving treatments.
UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty sent a letter praising Thompson to employees on Wednesday. “Brian is one of the good guys,” he wrote. “I’m going to miss him. I’m very proud to call him my friend.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Monday condemned those who promoted Mangione, calling the response “deeply troubling.”
“In America, we don’t kill people in cold blood to resolve policy differences or make a point,” he said.
Speaking on a panel at the Reuters NEXT conference in New York on Wednesday, executives from Pfizer and Amazon said the health care companies were taking a step back to better understand patients’ experiences.
Vin Gupta, chief medical officer of Amazon Pharmacy, said: “Our health care system needs to get better… There are a lot of things that should cause a lot of anger.” “It is also true that (the killings) should not happen. There is no way that this can exist in our discourse. A false moral equivalence.”
(Reporting by Joseph Axe in New York, Rich McKay in Atlanta, Brad Brooks in Atlanta; Editing by Paul Thomasch and Deepa Babington)
