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.
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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.”
Luigi Mangione’s mom spoke to FBI one day before son’s arrest
Luigi Mangione’s mother reportedly spoke to FBI officials the day before he was arrested in Pennsylvania on suspicion of murdering the CEO of a health insurance giant after federal authorities received a tip.
According to the New York Post, a police officer in San Francisco recognized the suspect in surveillance photographs being circulated by New York City police. Mangione’s parents had filed a missing persons report with the San Francisco Police Department in November, after he reportedly went on a solo trip to Asia, apparently without telling them where he was.
The tip reportedly came in four days before the parents were contacted.
Michelle Del Rey has the story.
Luigi Mangione’s mother spoke to FBI day before son’s arrest
Kathleen Mangione reportedly told the FBI that the suspected shooter resembled her son
UnitedHealthcare didn’t insure Mangione
Luigi Mangione was not insured by UnitedHealth Group, UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, told NBC News.
The update comes after police said that there was “no indication” that Mangione was registered with UnitedHealthcare, whose CEO was murdered on December 4 in Midtown Manhattan.
“We have no indication that he was ever a client of United Healthcare, but he does make mention that it is the fifth-largest corporation in America, which would make it the largest health care organization in America,” Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told NBC New York. “So that’s possibly why he targeted that company,” Kenny said.
Investigators are still looking into a motive and have said that he suffered from debilitating back pain.