Luigi Mangione’s prison fan club: Suspect has received 87 pieces of mail and 163 donations while behind bars
Exclusive: The murder suspect has received over 100 pieces of mail since being taken into custody
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Luigi Mangione, the suspect at the center of the UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting, has received over 100 pieces of mail just over a week after he was taken into custody.
A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections confirmed the news to The Independent.
As of Thursday morning, Mangione had received 54 emails, 87 pieces of mail and 163 deposits into his commissary account, an account that allows inmates to purchase items from behind bars. The spokesperson did not confirm how much money was in the account.
Mangione was being held in pre-trial detention at a state correctional facility in Huntingdon before he was extradited on Thursday to New York, where he’s been charged with murder in connection with fatal shooting of Brian Thompson, the healthcare company’s CEO, on December 4 in Manhattan.
It’s not clear if the suspect will be able to access the Pennsylvania emails and mail from New York.
The alleged assassin has drawn wide attention from internet admirers after he was taken into custody at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania last week. Upon his arrest, online retailers began hawking merchandise featuring Mangione’s mugshot and the words “Free Luigi.”
Moreover, his Pennsylvania attorney told reporters he had to decline offers from strangers to fund Mangione’s legal bills. Even so, his supporters managed to raise over $100,000 for a defense fund.
The suspect appeared in court on Thursday, where he waived his right to extradition. He’s now being transported to New York to face charges of murder in the first degree in furtherance of terrorism and two counts of murder in the second degree.
Upon his arrest on December 9, Pennsylvania officials hit him with charges of forgery, firearms not to be carried without a license, tampering with records or identification, possessing instruments of crime and false identification to law enforcement authorities.
He’s also facing the following federal charges: murder through use of a firearm, two stalking charges and a firearms offense.
The Independent has emailed Mangione’s attorney for comment.
The 26-year-old’s alleged crime has left the internet divided. Some people believe the murder is a manifestation of the outrage felt by many US residents over the state of the healthcare industry. UnitedHealthcare reportedly denies more claims than other insurers.
Additionally, 41 percent of voters between 18 and 29 think the killing was “acceptable” or “somewhat acceptable,” according to an Emerson College poll published this week.
A handwritten manifesto found by police outlined his frustration against the healthcare industry, officials said.
“I do apologize for any strife and trauma but it had to be done,” Mangione allegedly wrote. “Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming. A reminder: the US has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy.”
One friend told People Mangione had complained of a recent spinal injury that made dating and physical intimacy unlikely, causing him to become depressed.
The alleged killer was not insured by UnitedHealthcare at the time of the shooting and had reportedly not been in contact with his family leading up to the murder, prompting his parents to hire a private investigator to locate him, outlets have reported.
In a statement following his arrest, Nino Mangione, a Republican member of the Maryland House of Delegates and the suspect’s cousin, released a statement on behalf of the family.
“Unfortunately, we cannot comment on news reports regarding Luigi Mangione,” the statement read. “We only know what we have read in the media. Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest. We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved.”
In an op-ed published in The New York Times following the murder, UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty called for reform to the healthcare industry.
“We know the health system does not work as well as it should, and we understand people’s frustrations with it. No one would design a system like the one we have. And no one did. It’s a patchwork built over decades,” Witty wrote.
Mangione is due to appear in federal court on Thursday in New York.