Supporters of UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting could target police, courts: analysts

Less than two weeks after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down in the streets of Midtown Manhattan, his alleged killer, Luigi Mangione, was greeted not with universal condemnation for the brazen violence, but rather with wave of enthusiastic support online for his so-called murder. called vigilante justice.

The Center for Internet Security (CIS), a cybersecurity-focused nonprofit that partners with government and law enforcement, has released a new threat assessment bulletin warning that online support for suspected shooter risks encouraging copycat attacks.

“The overwhelming bipartisan support for the attack” on social media “has given rise to multiple narratives encouraging similar violent activity directed at other healthcare leadership teams,” CIS analysts said.

“Stories supporting Mangione’s targeted attack likely serve to encourage like-minded individuals, especially as Mangione continues to be viewed by the public as an ‘American hero’ and sympathetic figure,” the bulletin said from CIS.

Threats, it adds, are “likely to come from individuals motivated by personal grievances, sociopolitical or ideological views, or in response to high-profile controversial cases, such as Thompson’s recent death.”

Threats proliferated online and multiple “wanted” signs appeared in New York depicting healthcare executives. Such “implicit and explicit target lists exacerbate current risks,” CIS wrote.

In Altoona, Pennsylvania, where Mangione was captured Monday, local police told ABC News they also faced threats and backlash for the suspect’s arrest, as did the McDonald’s where he was been arrested.

The CEI said it was “very likely that threats will continue to target [law enforcement] and other public functions participating in Mangione’s case.

Once extradited, second-degree murder and other charges await Mangione in New York, where he will ultimately stand trial.

There, the courthouse itself could be a target, CIS warned, with “individuals seeking to replicate” Mangione’s alleged actions likely being “emboldened and encouraged.”

“Due to widespread public support for the incident, law enforcement and others associated with Mangione’s arrest are likely at higher risk of being targeted,” the statement said. bulletin.

“Courthouses advocating for Mangione should prepare for inauthentic bomb threats and demonstrations in support of Mangione,” as well as crushing and doxing, the CIS wrote.

Mangione’s alleged actions fueled the public’s appreciation that violence is a “catalyst for change”, the CIS said – the “belief that assassination proves that violent action is an effective means of protest” .

The healthcare sector is “likely particularly vulnerable, alongside the pharmaceutical industry, to widespread support for targeted acts of violence due to the barriers many people face directly in obtaining insurance coverage,” the bulletin said of the CIS, citing “many” social media users sharing their own negative experiences with insurers.

The shooting sparked “a wave of negative sentiment and threatening statements, including an outcry and renewed focus on a new policy regarding anesthesia coverage limitations adopted by Elevance Health and announced in November,” CIS said .

Then, after Brian Thompson’s murder, Elevance reversed its policy “amid the influx of threatening statements,” CIS said.

“Several messages targeted the CEO of Elevance Health,” CIS wrote, adding that “other companies have also been named as possible future targets.”

But the surge in hostility may not be confined to the healthcare sector alone, the bulletin said. “The threats are likely to extend to leaders in other business sectors that the public views as going against the interests of the American public,” CIS wrote.