Luigi Mangione latest: UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting suspect charged with murder as an ‘act of terrorism’
Brian Thompson shooting suspect is set to return to court for a preliminary hearing in Pennsylvania on Thursday
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Luigi Mangione has been indicted on murder charges for an “act of terrorism” in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, New York prosecutors revealed on Tuesday.
The indictment was announced during an afternoon press conference, days before the suspect is set to appear in Pennsylvania court for a preliminary hearing on gun charges. He was arrested in the Commonwealth after a nearly week-long manhunt.
The 26-year-old is accused of fatally shooting the healthcare executive on the streets of Midtown Manhattan on the morning of December 4 and then eluding police for five days before he was arrested at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania.
The suspected shooter has retained high-profile attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo to defend him. Agnifilo previously worked at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, serving as the chief assistant district attorney for seven years, before moving to private practice in 2021.
Mangione’s supporters continue to donate thousands of dollars for his “defense” fund. The anonymous fund “December 4th Legal Committee” has amassed more than $140,000 in donations on the crowdfunding website GiveSendGo.
UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting suspect indicted on murder charges with prosecution calling it ‘act of terrorism’
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ICYMI: Luigi Mangione's mugshot emblazoned on stickers and t-shirts after murder charge
Donations for Luigi Mangione’s ‘defense fund’ surpass $100,000
Luigi Mangione supporters have donated tens of thousands of dollars to “defense funds” set up for him after he was arrested on suspicion of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The anonymous fund “December 4th Legal Committee” surpassed more than $100,000 in donations on the crowdfunding website GiveSendGo by Sunday morning.
The group’s name is an apparent reference to the day the 26-year-old allegedly gunned down the healthcare executive on a busy Manhattan street.
Read the full story.
Public donations for Luigi Mangione’s ‘defense fund’ surpass $100,000
The anonymous fundraiser for Luigi Mangione had surpassed more than $100,000 by Sunday
Sen. Bernie Sanders says CEO murder came amid people’s anger ‘rising up’ over health insurance denials
Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator who has campaigned for a national healthcare system, has said the UnitedHealthcare CEO’s shooting underscores people’s frustration with the industry.
Sanders, an Independent who caucuses with the Democrats, made the remarks on Meet the Press on Sunday morning.
“What I think has happened in the last few months is that what you have seen rising up is people’s anger at a health insurance industry, which denies people the health care that they desperately need while they make billions and billions of dollars in profit,” the senator told the show’s host Kristen Welker in response to a question about whether now is the right time to be discussing health insurance policy.
Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the murder, allegedly gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4 in New York City. He was arrested days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. At the time, police said they found a handwritten manifesto on him outlining his motive.
Read the full story.
Bernie Sanders says US is angry over health insurance denials
Democratic congressmembers are highlighting problems with the US healthcare industry
Luigi Mangione fans baffle SNL’s unhinged Nancy Grace
Saturday Night Live jumped into the nation's morbid fascination with Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The cold open kicked off with Sarah Sherman’s incredulous true crime entertainer Nancy Grace, who complained that “women and gay guys alike” have made Mangione into a “sex symbol.”
She said Mangione looked like “Dave Franco with Eugene Levy's eyebrows.”
Graig Graziosi has the story.
Luigi Mangione fans baffle SNL’s unhinged Nancy Grace
SNL tackles American outrage and obsession with ‘sex icon’ Luigi Mangione
McDonald’s worker may see a reward for calling in tip
The McDonald’s employee in Altoona, Pennsylvania who called in the tip that led to the arrest of Luigi Mangione is eligible for law enforcement’s $60,000 reward — but he may not collect it for a while.
The manhunt for the masked gunman suspected of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4 came to an end after six days when Larry, a McDonald’s employee, called 911, saying he recognized a customer nibbling on hashbrowns from the photos circulated by NYPD. Now, that worker is eligible to collect tens of thousands of dollars in reward money.
Mangione, 26, has been charged with second-degree murder in New York in connection to Thompson’s death. He also faces gun charges in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested.
The FBI was offering up to $50,000 and NYPD Crime Stoppers was offering $10,000 for information that led to an arrest or conviction.
“The individual in Pennsylvania, who called in a tip, is eligible to receive the reward,” the Police Foundation board said in a statement Wednesday.
Since most rewards require a conviction, Larry might have to wait until a trial completes, which could take a year or more, the Associated Press reported.
Read the full story.
McDonald’s worker is eligible for Mangione reward, but it’s going to take a minute
Tipsters were eligible to collect $60,000 in reward money for information that led to the arrest or conviction
Anchor interviews inmates at Mangione’s jail
A TV anchor managed to interview men at the alleged shooter’s jail as they watched her program from their cells.
Mangione is at a state correctional facility in Huntingdon. The prisoners there complained about their living conditions and meals by screaming yes or no to the anchor’s questions.
Watch the interaction here:
What has Mangione’s family said in the wake of his arrest?
Luigi Mangione’s family couldn’t merely afford medical care. They could afford to donate more than $1 million of their own money to healthcare.
That’s according to a report Monday from The Baltimore Banner, which chronicles the wealthy family history of the man charged with murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Following the news of Mangione’s arrest Monday, his family released a statement saying they were “shocked.”
Io Dodds has the full story.
Luigi Mangione’s family: Who are the relatives of CEO murder suspect
The man charged with murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson came from an influential Baltimore family with longstanding ties to local hospitals
Who is Karen Friedman Agnifilo?
Luigi Mangione has retained a top New York attorney for his legal defense in connection with the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The Independent understands that Karen Friedman Agnifilo has been officially retained to represent Mangione, 26, in New York, after the executive, 50, was gunned down outside the New York Hilton in Midtown Manhattan on 4 December.
Here, The Independent takes a look at what we know about Ms Agnifilo:
Who is Karen Friedman Agnifilo? Top New York attorney Luigi Mangione retained
Mangione faces second-degree murder charge over shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
Almost $125,000 raised by public to pay for Luigi Mangione’s legal bills
A legal committee has raised $124,905 to pay for Luigi Mangione’s legal bills as he faces charges in both Pennsylvania and New York.
The December 4th Legal Committee launched the public appeal on Christian fundraising site GiveSendGo, which garnered the vast sum after the 26-year-old was changed in Altoona, Pennsylvania on Monday. The fundraiser has a goal of $200,000.
“We are dedicated to ensuring that he gets a fair trial with competent legal counsel,” said Carol Sherman, an organizer with the December 4th Legal Committee.
The group says that proceeds will go to “other political prisoners in the US” if Mangione’s charges are dropped, or he rejects the funds.
Other campaigns soliciting donations for Mangione’s defence have been taken down by sites, such as GoFundMe.
Brian Thompson understood that UnitedHealthcare had a PR problem
The slain UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, “understood” that the health insurance giant had a public relations problem, and recognized the average American’s frustrations with the firm’s image.
Thompson, who was gunned down in the street in Midtown Manhattan on December 4, believed that the public didn’t understand UnitedHealthcare’s role in the nation’s health system, colleagues told the Washington Post.
“He understood that the public was frustrated with what they perceived the company’s actions to be,” a co-worker said. “He was actively articulating a vision that helped better educate and help people better understand what the company is doing.”