Last December, a masked man gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on the streets of New York. The gunman used a silencer, and after he shot Thompson, the gunman fled the scene on a bike and disappeared in Central Park. The NYPD then published photos of random white men in different jackets, claiming that all of the men were the same person, the shooter. It was bizarre. Then, days later, Luigi Mangione was arrested at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s and the authorities swore up and down that Luigi was their guy, and they charged him with terrorism and perp-walked him through New York like they had just caught Hannibal Lector. In the past month or so, there was little news about Luigi. It felt like the powers that be finally understood that a lot of people were on Luigi’s side and all of their efforts to turn Luigi into a supervillain had fallen flat. Well, there’s a Luigi update: Luigi’s defense team has accepted almost $300K in donations from fans.
Luigi Mangione has accepted nearly $300,000 in donations from fans as he awaits trial for allegedly slaying Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, in December.
The December 4 Legal Committee, which is stewarding a fundraiser on GiveSendGo for Mangione’s legal defense, said in a post that it had made contact with Mangione’s legal team, which accepted the $297,000 raised by the campaign to pay the accused killer’s legal bills.
Mangione’s lead attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, told the December 4 Committee — so named for the date of Thompson’s murder — that Mangione “very much appreciates the outpouring of support” from what the committee says is more than 10,000 individual donors.
A source with knowledge of the situation confirmed that the post was genuine. Friedman Agnifilo declined to comment when reached by PEOPLE.
Mangione, the Ivy League-educated scion of a prominent Maryland real estate family, is accused of gunning down Thompson outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel where he was heading to an investors’ conference.
Mangione faces federal murder charges that could land him the death penalty, as well as state murder charges that accuse him of committing an act of terrorism. He has pleaded not guilty to the state charges, and is currently being held pretrial at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
You know what? I’m not surprised that “fans” are contributing to his legal defense. The only surprise is that they haven’t raised more – there was an outpouring of support for Luigi last December, but I guess it was “out of sight, out of mind” for some people. As I said, there was a real effort to turn Luigi into a supervillain and no one was buying it, so the powers that be just stopped talking about him entirely. It’s like the authorities were mad that there was an organic groundswell of support for a guy with a bad back who put the fear of god into healthcare executives.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
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- Los Angeles, CA – Luigi Mangione, 26, poses for his latest mugshot after being charged with the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York. Mangione has been arrested on suspicion of carrying out the shooting in Pennsylvania. Pictured: Luigi Mangioni BACKGRID USA 10 DECEMBER 2024 BYLINE MUST READ: PA Department of Corrections / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Los Angeles, CA – Luigi Mangione poses for his first arrest photo after being found by cops at a McDonald’s restaurant in Pennsylvania. Mangione, arrested on suspicion of shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson to death in New York, was pictured at Altoona Police Department. Pictured: Luigi Mangione BACKGRID USA 10 DECEMBER 2024 BYLINE MUST READ: Altoona Police Department / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York City, NY – Luigi Mangione, 26, accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was extradited to New York City under heavy security. He arrived in an NYPD helicopter, wearing a bulletproof vest beneath his prison attire. Pictured: Luigi Mangione BACKGRID USA 19 DECEMBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York City, NY – Luigi Mangione, 26, accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was extradited to New York City under heavy security. He arrived in an NYPD helicopter, wearing a bulletproof vest beneath his prison attire. Pictured: Luigi Mangione BACKGRID USA 19 DECEMBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York City, NY – Luigi Mangione, 26, accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was extradited to New York City under heavy security. He arrived in an NYPD helicopter, wearing a bulletproof vest beneath his prison attire. Pictured: Luigi Mangione BACKGRID USA 19 DECEMBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York City, NY – Luigi Mangione, 26, accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was extradited to New York City under heavy security. He arrived in an NYPD helicopter, wearing a bulletproof vest beneath his prison attire. Pictured: Luigi Mangione BACKGRID USA 19 DECEMBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York City, NY – Luigi Mangione, 26, accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was extradited to New York City under heavy security. He arrived in an NYPD helicopter, wearing a bulletproof vest beneath his prison attire. Pictured: Luigi Mangione BACKGRID USA 19 DECEMBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
They finally realized that they should keep him out of sight to quiet the revolt the shooting induced. Plus, Trump didn’t find a way to benefit from the attention Luigi received, so he won’t receive any. After poring over his online presence they couldn’t declare him MAGA., so no more hero treatment. Good job from the lawyers reminding people of the support he gets. Another hearing is probably due, hence the announcement.
P.S. It’s spelt Hannibal Lecter.
It’s spelled “spelled”.
Spelt is a British thing and it is correct.
In an international forum it isn’t usually a good move to correct people’s grammar or spelling. Doing so can give an impression of cultural imperialism.
Oh for heaven’s sake. Cultural imperialism? You’re taking down an entire culture over a silly know-it-all? Molehill, meet Mountain.
Why would you do this?
It’s so unnecessary and small.
Yeah no notes.
I just hope the American public is as astute as you are.
If I remember correctly, Luigi’s NYC perp walk from the helicopter was joined by NYC’s Trump-loving, embattled mayor. All of a sudden, Eric Adams was on the hot seat. So, possibly that is also part of the reason they decided not to highlight Mangione. That and it turns out that having issues with insurance is fairly common in the US.
PS, We may use “spelled,” but most English-speaking countries AND people who learn English as non-native speakers use “spelt.” Due to British (OG) English.
You recall correctly. And its validity was about as sound as 🟠 💩 tear-gassing protesters near a church, to hold a bible upside down while flanked by military offficers during a photo op, in front of said church.
The perp-walk was incredibly dumb, but the mayor showing up was really next level. The nerve.
Also dumb: me correcting Kaiser on spelling. I learned my lesson, people 🙂
Concerning the amount: I think a lot of people wanted to donate through go fund me’s but there’s certain rules about accepting money for legal fees 🤷🏻♀️
Also the perp walks were a huge pr miscalculation and just added to his mystique
The silence is deliberate. The powers that be don’t want people seeing him as a lethal Batman, hoodied crusader.
I think it was before he even left Pennsylvania, his lawyer there sad they had received so many calls and donations on his behalf they were overwhelmed. It sounds like the $300,000 is just from GoFundMe, not what was given to his lawyers directly
KFA is his lead attorney? Wow!
In case anyone doesn’t know, she was #2 in the Manhattan day’s office for years, sometimes acting DA if needed.
She also does alot of commentary on the Meidas Touch channel (maybe taking a break from it to focus on Luigi’s defense 🤷) and has her own podcast (Ms. Trial I think?) She tells it like it is, even if nobody wants to hear it
Luigi might, just might, have a chance. KFA is a beast
Yes! KFA is the bomb, I love her on Meidas while her husband’s clients are more problematic (Diddy, Epstein…)
I appreciate this this article is written with the presumption of innocence. Too many people, including those celebrating him, take it as a given that Luigi did it. I think the photos of random men who are def not the same person are a reach by authorities, and the bike timelines don’t add up nor does Luigi just happening to have all the evidence on him in a McDonalds. The billionaires are shook and they want to make an example out of someone. Personally, I hope his case is thrown out because all the media coverage means there isn’t an unbiased jury pool.
While I do not condone murder, I work for an insurance company (not the one Luigi targeted) but I understand the frustration of the denial of claims and other BS. In my mind, all insurance companies are only out for profit and they don’t care about their members.
United Healthcare is not making things any better with the public by threatening a surgeon for speaking out about stunts they’ve pulled
The Media has really done its darndest to bury Luigi from public conscious . The class solidarity that his actions inspired terrified the elites.
Now they are going back to stirring up culture wars to distract from all the corruption thats is going on in congress and this country in general
The cursor earring cracks me up every time … glad he’s got a great lawyer. Seating a jury is going to be nearly impossible, so you know the prosecution will be pressuring him to take a plea.
And the GoFundme thing might also be that he comes from a really wealthy family, who seem willing to stand by their boy. I mean, I’m Team Luigi, but my $$ were going to bombed out Palestinians at that point.
I’m sorry but..this is really disgusting. All kinds of mental gymnastics going on to justify why it might not be wrong to donate money to someone who felt murdering a human being was a way to solve his problems. As for the presumption of innocence, this guy had a manifesto. Positive match with his fingerprints. Captured on a security camera. To me this whole story highlights issues of morality and ethics in our modern world and post the internet era.
While to me, it highlights how people are treated as commodities — even by the resources that we pay for and entrust with our lives; how the presumption of innocence isn’t truly accorded to everyone — especially when the media is heavily involved; and how knowledge of the long history of having police plant evidence isn’t something that impacts everyone equally. I DO agree with you on your last point though, @Minnie. This story does highlight issues of morality and ethics — as do the outcomes that are following from the recent US presidential election.
I think a lot of people just didn’t know where to donate. If they had, I suspect more would have donated, even if only small dollars that add up when multiplied.
I received a letter last week from United healthcare, the subject, Prior Authorization Approval. The first sentence read, “This approval does not guarantee that the plan will pay for the service”. The company seemed to have tripled down in their negative behavior.
This is the crux of his defence – given how much of the case has been broadcast through the media is it possible for this guy to get a fair trial? Especially with the crazy perp walk, etc… Clearly, there was some sort of disconnect happening with him. I also feel it is disgusting that Trump is trying to come and make this a capital crime when clearly it is a state crime. Only a terror plot because victim was a millionaire.