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Wanted posters for healthcare executives have started appearing across New York City following the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week.
Thompson, 50, was en route to speak at UnitedHealth Group's investor conference at the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan last Wednesday when he was fatally shot. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch stated that Thompson was struck at least once in the back and once in the right calf.
Police arrested a suspect, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, on Monday in connection with the shooting, charging him with second-degree murder. No motive for the shooting has been established, but a handwritten manifesto purportedly found with Mangione at the time of his arrest indicates that Thompson's killing may have been motivated by anger about the health insurance industry, with the suspect allegedly justifying the homicide by writing: "The parasites had it coming."
Following the shooting, videos shared on social media showed "wanted" signs featuring Thompson and other healthcare corporate leaders plastered across traffic control boxes in Canal Street in Manhattan.
One video showed a poster with a red X over Thompson's image. Other posters featured images of Optum Health's CEO and UnitedHealth Group's CEO. UnitedHealth Group is the parent company of UnitedHealthcare and Optum.
Videos showed the posters featured the words: "Wanted. Denying medical care for corporate profit. Health care CEOs should not feel safe."
"UnitedHealthcare killed everyday people for the sake of profit. As a result Brian Thompson was denied his claim to life. Who will be denied next?" they continue.
The signs also included the phrase Mangione allegedly wrote on the bullets found at the crime scene - "Deny. Defend. Depose." The trio of words allegedly reference a book by Jay Feinman, titled Delay, Defend, Deny: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Alaims, and What You Can Do About It. It's unclear who put the posters up.
Newsweek has contacted the NYPD, as well as the CEOs for comment.
Following the shooting, some took to social media to praise Mangione for shooting Thompson, with #freeLuigiMangionegaining gaining traction on X on Tuesday, while some described the suspected shooter as a "hero."
"He started the war on greedy, subhuman insurance CEO's is what he did. And in this house, Luigi Mangione is an Italian American hero, END OF STORY!" one post on X read.
Other posts highlighted how the shooting could ignite a discussion about health-care policy in the U.S.
"Awful news about that murder but at least it's fueling a discourse on social media that will surely change a lot of minds on health care policy," one post read.
"Thoughts and prayers to the family of billionaire guy who got rich off of hardworking Americans' insurance premiums and then signed their death warrants instead of giving them the peace of mind they paid for," another person wrote.
Other posts showed Mangione has become something of an online sex symbol since his arrest, with some calling from him to be freed. He is currently being held without bail.
"The manhunt has now ended with investigators declaring 'too hot to convict,'" wrote one user on X. The post featured photos of Mangione taken from his social media profiles.
"The healthcare CEO assassin Luigi Mangione is soooo HOT," wrote another user.
"Luigi Mangione got the full package, free him," said another.
Police Warning
But in a bulletin issued Tuesday by the NYPD, police warned against social media posts reacting positively to the killing, and highlighted the heightened risk on health-care executives following Thompson's death, ABC News reported.
"Both prior to and after the suspected perpetrator's identification and arrest, some online users across social media platforms reacted positively to the killing, encouraged future targeting of similar executives, and shared conspiracy theories regarding the shooting," the bulletin warned.
The bulletin added that the shooting has the "capability to inspire a variety of extremists and grievance-driven malicious actors to violence," and cited a viral social media post featuring the names and salaries of eight health insurance CEOs, which some online users shared "emphasizing that it is a hitlist and that CEOs should be afraid."
Meanwhile, following Thompson's death, health insurance companies are closing headquarters, scrubbing their websites of top executives' photographs and increasing armed security details for key leaders, according to CNN.
Mangione appeared in court on Tuesday. As he was lead in by officers, wearing a orange jumpsuit, he yelled "insult to the intelligence of the American people," while deputies pushed him inside.
During the hearing in Pennsylvania, he was denied bail and contested his extradition back to New York. He has 14 days to challenge the bail decision.
The 26-year-old is an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family.
Update, 12/14/24 at 11:56 a.m.: The article was updated.
About the writer
Martha McHardy is a U.S. News reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on polling and California politics. She ... Read more