What’s new
Luigi Mangione, the alleged assassin of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, received dozens of letters and emails as well as financial support while incarcerated, according to a Department of Health report. New York Post revealed.
Why it matters
Mangione is considered a hero by some people who have grievances against corporate America and the private health care sector.
A notebook found on Mangione during his arrest included several pages of writings “that expressed hostility toward the health insurance industry and wealthy executives in particular,” according to a federal complaint unsealed Thursday.
UnitedHealthcare said Mangione was never one of its customers.
Mangione’s supporters flocked to social media, posting videos admiring the 26-year-old Ivy League graduate for the crime he was accused of and even his appearance. Some even offered to pay his legal fees, according to Mangione’s Pennsylvania attorney, Thomas Dickey.
Gene J. Puskar-Pool/Getty Images
What you need to know
Mangione faces New York state charges, including murder as an act of terrorism, and federal murder, stalking and weapons charges after allegedly shooting Thompson, 50, then that he was going alone to an annual investors conference in Midtown, Manhattan, on December 4. He has pleaded not guilty to the forgery and weapons charges brought against him in Pennsylvania.
It appears that some people’s admiration for Mangione extends beyond social media, with Mangione apparently receiving dozens of communications and more than 100 filings from commissioners.
THE Job reported, citing corrections officials, that Mangione received 54 emails, 87 physical letters and 163 deposits into an account allowing him to purchase commissary items while at the State Correctional Institute of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.
Mangione was held at the Pennsylvania jail following his arrest in Altoona after a McDonald’s customer recognized him from police photos of Thomspon’s killer. On Thursday, he waived his right to contest extradition and was taken to New York. He is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn.
The number of letters sent to Mangione has in fact increased since Job heard about Mangione’s fan mail with Maria Bivens, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, saying News week by email Saturday afternoon that Mangione received “127 letters” Friday afternoon.
Bivens could not disclose the content of the communications Mangione was receiving because “the content of his private mail is not public information.”
THE Job called them “love letters” given what some people shared online about these communications.
Bivens, meanwhile, could not say how much money had been deposited into Mangione’s commissioner’s account, saying News week“His banking/account information is not public information.”
News week also contacted MDC Brooklyn via email Saturday afternoon to see if Mangione had received any communications or commissioner filings while in custody there.
What do people say
A TikTok user who said she wrote to Mangione said in a video posted last week that she told him: “I offer my friendship and support. I saw what you shared and I recognize your suffering. I understand .I see you.”
Another user on TikTok, she said that writing to Mangione was her first experience writing a letter to someone in prison.
“It’s cathartic and sexy to want to do something and then do it, I mean write a letter,” the user said in a video posted this week.
A third TikToker shared a screenshot of an email letter written to Mangione that read in part: “I’m sure you’ve received countless messages from people all over the world over the past few days, the internet is truly in love with you lol.” .
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters after Mangione was indicted on state charges that authorities “witnessed a shocking and appalling celebration of cold-blooded murder.”
“Let me say this: There is clearly no heroism in what Mangione did,” she added.
What happens next
Mangione faces life in prison without parole if convicted of murder as an act of terrorism in New York. The new federal charges put him at risk of the death penalty.
The alleged killer will next appear in court on January 18, 2025. If this is anything like his past court appearances, spectators will be waiting outside holding signs in support of him.
