In the wake of the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan on December 4, “Wanted” posters with names and photos of Thompson and other healthcare executives were spotted around Manhattan this week.
“The posters warn that ‘HEALTH CARE CEOS SHOULD NOT FEEL SAFE’ and include ‘DENY… DEFEND… DEPOSE’ — the three words found on the bullets allegedly shot by Luigi Mangione, who is accused of gunning down Thompson outside a Midtown hotel last week,” The New York Post reported.
A fundraiser for Mangione’s defense reportedly has raised more than$44,000. Not only that, a Mangione “lookalike” competition was held by some people in Manhattan.
“The murder has also spawned a stream of merchandise sympathetic towards the 26-year-old being sold by online retailers, forcing Amazon to pull them from its website,” the Post noted. “Gifts like T-shirts, sweatshirts and other goods with ‘Deny Defend Depose’ have been popping up on websites like Amazon, TikTok and Ebay. Other Mangione-themed items with ‘Free Luigi’ written on them have been put up for sale for the killer’s admirers.”
Some social media comments included statements such as, “Don’t care what anyone else thinks or says: Luigi Mangioni is a f***ing hero and I am VERY sad he got caught before he could dispense more justice. I hope someone picks up his flag and finishes his mission.” Another user wrote, “Heroes walk among us. Never forget Luigi Mangione.”
Rob D’Amico, a former FBI agent, told People magazine that the investigation to find the alleged shooter was set back by people sympathetic to him, saying, “It was definitely hampering it. If one person sees them and recognizes them and doesn’t make that phone call because of it, that can harm [the investigation].”
Referring to sympathy expressed for the alleged shooter, Leemore Dafny, a professor at Harvard Business School, called it “horrifying,” adding, “Some people have expressed that this is an unexpected consequence of a great dislike and distrust for the insurance industry. This is murder. This is not an expression of discontent with an industry.”
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