ALTOONA, Pa. — The motive of the suspected killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has not been made public by authorities, but the public believes the suspect has ties to both the health care industry and capitalism in general. I suspect that he was deeply dissatisfied.
Authorities arrested Luigi Mangione, 26, at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday. The suspect provided false identification to local police and appeared shaken when police asked him if he had been in New York recently.
As NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenney previously told Fox News, authorities also found a handwritten manifesto condemning the medical industry. The manifesto specifically mentioned United Healthcare.
“In every era, there are people who go out and take the law into their own hands and become heroes,” Curtis Sliwa, founder of New York City's Guardian Angels, told Fox News Digital.
Ivy League murder suspect's possible triggers include Obamacare provisions: Veterans. FBI agent
United Healthcare CEO murder suspect Luigi Mangione screams while being restrained by police as he arrives for his extradition hearing in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday. (David Dee Delgado, Fox News Digital)
“In this case, what's most surprising to me is the number of women who hugged Luigi, not because he's a good-looking guy with abs, but because they believe it's this outrageous overreach. Especially this one. “In some cases,” said Sliwa, “medical companies repeatedly deny guaranteed surgeries.”
United Healthcare CEO murder suspect riots outside Pennsylvania courthouse
He added that he believes the anger against the medical industry that has surfaced over Thompson's murder is misplaced.
“These people in the health insurance industry have serious problems with the way they operate. But shooting people in the back isn't going to solve things.”
The Altoona Police Department said at a news conference Tuesday that a civilian and a McDonald's employee were arrested after a fast-food chain employee called 911 to say he saw Mangione and was arrested shortly after the call. It said it was actively investigating the threat. Police are also being threatened.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in midtown Manhattan on December 4th. (Businesswire | NYPD Crimestoppers)
“This is not the way we handle things,” Sliwa said. “Don't start threatening the person who created the ID. It's like the gang rule: 'Snatchers get stitches and end up in the ditch.'”
Nicholas Creel, associate professor of business law and ethics at the University of Georgia & State University, told Fox News Digital: “America is currently in a period of heightened populist sentiment, with anger directed at elites, particularly wealthy corporate executives. “It's becoming more and more common.”
”[I]It's no surprise that so many people sympathize with the perpetrator in this case more than the victim. ”
“This explains why so many people on social media began expressing support for Luigi Mangione's actions as soon as they learned who his victims were,” Creel said. said. “Health insurance CEOs are probably the pinnacle of the wealthy elite, and many now consider them to be responsible for financial problems. That's why some people sympathize with the criminals more than the victims in this case. It's no surprise that there are so many.”
Luigi Mangione is pictured in a Pennsylvania mugshot after being arrested in connection with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
Creel added that the rhetoric of those supporting Mangione “could clearly have a negative impact on the safety of wealthy corporate executives because it gives people a concrete target for their anger.”
“That's why many other health insurance companies quickly removed the personal information of their executives to make it at least a little harder to identify them by populist groups who saw this murder as a rallying point for attacks. “It's a battle against the corporate elite,'' Creel said.
Who is Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the murder of United Healthcare CEO?
Luigi Mangione, the suspected gunman in the killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was seen on surveillance footage flirting with a hostel employee before the Dec. 4 shooting. . (New York City Police Department)
Dr. Rachel D. Miller, LMFT, founder of Hold the Vision Therapy in Chicago, told FOX News Digital that she sees the effects of capitalist inequality on her practice and clients every day. .
“Nearly everyone faces a major medical catastrophe by becoming homeless, and the system continues to put pressure on them from multiple angles.”
“What I'm seeing in my clinical work is increased anxiety about job security, increased challenges to the ability to make ends meet, and an underlying response to catastrophic events such as losing a car or losing medical care. It’s scary,” Dr. Miller said.
Luigi Mangione was arrested on Monday in New York City on suspicion of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and is currently being held at the SCI Huntingdon State Correctional Facility in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. (David Dee Delgado, Fox News Digital)
Bill Knack, founder and president of First Responder Protection Services, which provides executive protection to prominent leaders and dignitaries across the United States, similarly said that this rhetoric is “a slow burn of anger that leads to action.” '', he told FOX News Digital.
“It's encouraging people who are already resentful of wealth to follow a message that names certain leaders,” he said. “We have managed cases where executives faced direct and concrete threats after their names were spread through similar online posts.”
Could Ivy League murder suspect Luigi Mangione face federal charges?
Luigi Mangione is pictured in a Facebook photo. (Luigi Mangione/Facebook)
Mr. Mangione, a private high school and Ivy League-educated young professional from the Baltimore area, has been indicted on multiple charges in both Pennsylvania and New York, where he is charged with murder.
Since his arrest, internet sleuths have been examining Mr. Mangione's extensive and documented social media presence, with many users implicating Mr. Thompson, a married father of two from a small town in Iowa, in the killing. He praises the suspected murderer.
United Healthcare CEO murder suspect Luigi Mangione accused of back surgery before murder
A bullet lies on the sidewalk at the scene where UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan on December 4th. (Stephen Jeremiah/Associated Press)
Even professors at Mangione's alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, took to TikTok and Instagram to praise the suspect, whom she has since recanted.
Jeffrey Kullberg, associate dean of the UPenn School of Arts and Sciences, issued a statement Wednesday regarding the post by Julia Alekseyeva, assistant professor of English at UPenn.
“Recent social media posts attributed to Assistant Professor Julia Alexeyeva have raised a number of concerns,” Kalberg said. “Her comments regarding the shooting death of Brian Thompson in New York City were contrary to the values of both the College of Arts and Sciences and the University of Pennsylvania, and were not tolerated by the department or the University. In reflection, Assistant Professor Alexeyeva I agree that the comment was insensitive and inappropriate and have withdrawn it.
Luigi Mangione was charged with murdering United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson (inset) on December 4 in New York.
Former Washington Post and New York Times reporter Taylor Lorenz told Piers Morgan that she and “many other Americans” felt “joy” upon hearing of Thompson's death. .
“Unfortunately, I, like many other Americans, felt the joy.”
“I believe in the sanctity of life, and I think that's why I felt joy, like so many other Americans, unfortunately.” Lorenz told Morgan: “Maybe not joy, but certainly not sympathy,” he later added.
On Goodreads, a platform where users review and document the books they read, a profile matching Mangione has written a review of a book. Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski.
“It would be easy to quickly and thoughtlessly dismiss this as a madman's manifesto to avoid confronting some of the unpleasant issues this issue identifies,” he wrote. “But it is simply impossible to ignore how prescient many of his predictions about modern society have turned out to be.”
United Healthcare CEO Luigi Mangione's first meal in prison revealed
Writing about Kaczynski's “Industrial Society and its Future,” he cited other views online. [he] I thought it was interesting. ”
“When all other forms of communication fail, violence is necessary for survival,” he wrote. “You may not like the way he does things, but if you look at things from his perspective, it's not terrorism, it's war and revolution.”
Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the murder of United Healthcare CEO, has been indicted in both New York and Pennsylvania. (David Dee Delgado, Fox News Digital)
Mangione recently lived in a Honolulu-based co-living space called Surfbreak Co-Living, which is described on its website as a “co-working space for remote workers and digital nomads.” There is.
“As long as he was there, [Mangione] He lived in a surf break and was a great community member,” former roommate RJ Martin told Fox News' Jesse Waters on Tuesday. Something that our values follow. And our ethics of leaving you better than you found it. He was always contributing and caring for others. And even after we moved, he still came here to hang out, contribute to the community, and spearhead the book club. ”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In New York, Mangione is charged with one count of murder, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, one count of possession of a forged document, and one count of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
In Pennsylvania, he is charged with one count of forgery, one count of possession of an unlicensed firearm, one count of tampering with records or identification, one count of possession of criminal instruments, and one count of presenting false identification to law enforcement. is being asked. on court documents.
FOX News' Molly Markowitz contributed to this report.
