Luigi Mangione latest: Online donors raise thousands for CEO shooting suspect as grand jury hears evidence
Investigations into the motive behind the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s shooting death continue, as Mangione fights extradition to New York where he faces a murder charge
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A public fundraiser has garnered more than $50,000 in funds for Luigi Mangione’s legal defense as of Thursday afternoon, online records show.
Donations have poured into the GiveSendGo fundraiser organized by the December 4 Legal Committee.
The flood of funds comes as New York prosecutors began presenting evidence to a grand jury as they work toward what Governor Kathy Hochul predicts will be an “ironclad” indictment against the suspect, ABC News reported.
The 26-year-old accused killer is currently being held in a Pennsylvania jail. A grand jury indictment could bolster the case for extradition to New York, where he faces a second-degree murder charge in connection with the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s shooting death in Midtown Manhattan last week. Mangione is contesting the extradition.
The development comes as Luigi Mangione’s defense lawyer Thomas Dickey explained why his client became “agitated” and began yelling at reporters outside a Pennsylvania courthouse.
“It’s completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people and their lived experience!” Mangione yelled Tuesday as he was escorted into the courthouse.
Dickey explained the outburst to CNN: “He’s irritated. Agitated about what’s happening to him and what he’s being accused of.”
Who is Luigi Mangione: What to know about man charged with murder in UnitedHealthcare CEO’s shooting death
Who is Thomas Dickey? The Pennsylvania trial lawyer representing CEO murder suspect Luigi Mangione
The very online ‘gray tribe’ philosophy of alleged UnitedHealthcare killer Luigi Mangione
The alleged UnitedHealthcare shooter suffered from chronic pain. It’s a problem plaguing more than a third of Americans
Kathy Hochul expects ‘ironclad’ indictment against Luigi Mangione ‘any day now’
New York Governor Kathy Hochul says she expects an indictment against Luigi Mangione to be issued “any day now” which she says will be followed by a warrant for his extradition “the second that happens”.
Hochul said she trusts Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office to put forth an “ironclad” indictment, following Mangione being charged with second-degree murder in connection with UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s death last week.
Mangione is currently being held in a Pennsylvania jail cell where he faces gun charges.
Speaking on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Thursday, the governor said: “I trust the DA here in Manhattan to put forward an indictment that is going to be ironclad. And that’s why there’s been a little time. People say, ‘why hasn’t something happened already?’ You want to get this right. You don’t want to have anybody, a defense attorney, be able to attack what you’ve done.”
She continued: “We expect that to be issued any day now. And it’s the second that happens, I’m issuing a warrant for extradition. I’ve already told the governor of Pennsylvania in multiple conversations, Josh Shapiro, and he’s working with me on this.”
Manhattan DA vows to bring Mangione to NYC to ‘face justice’
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg vowed to extradite Luigi Mangione to New York, where he faces a second-degree murder charge in connection with the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thomspon, so he can face justice.
“We will get the defendant here and get him to justice through our court proceeding,” Bragg told ABC News Wednesday
He added that Mangione could face additional charges beyond the murder charge as authorities continue to investigate the motive for the health insurer’s murder.
“As we learn more about motives and other things like that... there may be additional charges,” Bragg added.
UnitedHealth Group CEO vows to 'make healthcare work better’
Andrew Whitty, the CEO of UnitedHealth Group, the parent company to UnitedHealthcare, has vowed to “make healthcare work better for everybody in every way” according to a new memo.
“No matter what’s happening, we’re going to be there for the moms and dads who brought one of their kids to a clinic this morning,” he added, according to the note obtained by Newsweek. “We’re going to be there for the sickest and the most vulnerable among us, whose homes our nurses and case workers are visiting today.”
He continued: “We’re going to make sure medicines are filled, infusions are administered and people can navigate their therapies for the rarest states of disease.
“The same people who were counting on us last week are counting on us today — none of that’s changed. Our patients, our customers, partners and clients need us to be at our very best. And then again tomorrow. The day after next. Next week. Next month. Next year.”
He also called slain UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, “one of the good guys”.
“Brian was one of the good guys,” Witty added. “He was certainly one of the smartest guys. I think he was one of the best guys. I’m going to miss him. And I am incredibly proud to call him my friend.”
In pictures: ‘Luigi’ street art with UnitedHealthcare logo crossed out emerges in Seattle
Reddit posts reveal Mangione’s anger at healthcare system
Luigi Mangione, the suspected UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter, repeatedly shared his fury at the healthcare system and revealed a “nuclear option” to get doctors to approve health care procedures, according to an archived Reddit post.
Mangione, who is said to have had a spinal fusion surgery in 2023, complained on the site that medical authorities didn’t take people’s pain seriously, according to The Washington Post.
“Tell them you are ‘unable to work’ / do your job,” he wrote in one post. “We live in a capitalist society. I’ve found that the medical industry responds to these key words far more urgently than you describing unbearable pain and how it’s impacting your quality of life.”
In another post, he told readers they could fake difficulty using their feet to convince doctors to give them back surgery.
“This is the absolute nuclear option, but there comes a point where it’s just ridiculous that people won’t operate on your broken spine,” he said.
Who is the slain UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson?
Brian Thompson was laid to rest at a private funeral service in his Minnesota hometown on Monday.
That same day, Luigi Mangione was arrested in Pennsylvania and charged with murder in connection to the UnitedHealthcare CEO’s death.
The 26-year-old suspect was taken into custody in Altoona and is now being held without bond in Pennsylvania as he faces charges in two states. Mangione appeared for a hearing on Tuesday in Pennsylvania, where he fought extradition to New York to face charges.
Here’s what to know about the slain health insurer.
Who is Brian Thompson – the slain CEO of UnitedHealthcare?
Luigi Mangione allegedly kept a notebook that laid out his plot to ‘wack’ Thompson at his ‘parasitic bean-counter convention’ in Manhattan
More than $45k raised by public fundraiser to pay for Mangione’s legal bills
A legal committee has raised more than $45,000 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 charged 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.
It follows Mangione’s lawyer, Thomas Dickey, telling CNN on Tuesday that his staff have gotten offers from the public to pay for his client’s legal fees.
The very online ‘gray tribe’ philosophy of Luigi Mangione
The man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson followed Richard Dawkins and RFK Jr, tweeted about neuroscience and Japanese birth rates, and shared posts about how to think more logically.
The 26-year-old was fascinated by AI and decision theory; pro-technology but anti-smartphones; secular and scientific in his outlook, but in favour of religion on Darwinian grounds.
So, what does it all mean?
Io Dodds breaks it down.
The very online ‘gray tribe’ philosophy of alleged UnitedHealth killer Luigi Mangione
The man accused of killing Brian Thompson had an extensive social media history that makes his worldview very clear, writes Io Dodds
Mangione’s attorney explains why shooting suspect grew ‘agitated’ outside courthouse
Luigi Mangione’s defense attorney Thomas Dickey has spoken out about his client’s outburst outside a Pennsylvania courthouse earlier this week.
The suspect faced an extradition hearing Tuesday in Pennsylvania after New York prosecutors charged him with second-degree murder in connection with last week’s brazen killing in Midtown Manhattan.
“It’s completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people and their lived experience!,” Mangione yelled as he was escorted in handcuffs into the Blair County Courthouse.
Speaking on CNN, Dickey shed light on why he believes the 26-year-old suspect became “agitated”.
“He’s irritated. Agitated about what’s happening to him and what he’s being accused of,” he said on Wednesday. “He never had any legal representation until he walked into that building yesterday.”
Dickey said that Mangione began acting differently after the hearing because he found “somebody that he can trust”.
“If you notice, look at the film, look at the difference between when he went in and when he came out,” Dickey continued.
“Once he got in, he finally had legal representation. I like to think he had somebody that he can trust and has faith in. Now he has a spokesperson and someone that’s going to fight for him.”