Luigi Mangione, the suspect accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has accepted nearly $300,000 in donations for his criminal defense.
Mangione allegedly shot Thompson outside the Manhattan hotel where UnitedHealthcare’s annual shareholder conference was being held, in an act prosecutors believe was meant to send a message to the healthcare insurance industry.
Mangione is charged with first-degree murder in furtherance of an act of terrorism, stalking and a slew of other state and federal charges in both New York and Pennsylvania, for allegedly gunning down Thompson, a married father of two from Minnesota.
“Luigi is aware of the fund and very much appreciates the outpouring of support. My client plans on utilizing it to fight all three of the unprecedented cases against him,” Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Mangione’s lead defense attorney, said in a Monday statement, according to the December 4 Legal Committee, which created the fund.
The fundraiser garnered more than $290,000 from more than 10,000 individual donations, according to a press release.
“It’s shocking that anybody would raise money for a person [accused of killing] someone in broad daylight in cold blood. There are so many other causes in this country that a person could raise money for,” former Washington, D.C., homicide detective, criminal trial attorney and Fox News contributor Ted Williams told Fox News Digital. “Mangione, by the way, came from a very well-off family…raising money for him is like applauding murder.” (RELATED: Maher Calls Out Those Celebrating Insurance CEO’s Murder Over Anti-Gun Hypocrisy)
“I find it sad in America where we can witness one man murdering another man and amplify the murderer. It is appalling to me that anybody would raise even a dollar for a person who killed another person in cold blood,” Williams said. “Yes, a person is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. However, given everything we know about Luigi…all the evidence points directly to him. I am just shocked that because of a person’s status, i.e. being a health care executive, that anybody in America could be cheering the death of a human being.”
The December 4 [D4] Legal Committee describes itself as “a team of 15 volunteers around the United States” that was “created independently by Mangione’s supporters on his behalf.” The D4 committee’s spokespeople, Sam Beard and Jamie Peck, also host a podcast “about communism and gossip” called “Party Girls.”
“We’re thrilled that Luigi is accepting these funds so that he can mount the strongest defense possible,” Beard said in a statement. “The American private health insurance industry has ruined countless lives by denying people access to basic care and burying families in medical debt. It’s no surprise that Luigi’s alleged actions are understood and supported by tens of millions of hard-working Americans.”
Thompson’s murder triggered a five-day nationwide manhunt, with Mangione arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where he stopped at a local McDonald’s after getting off a Greyhound bus that was passing through town. (RELATED: Former Ivy League Student Arrested, Identified In UnitedHealthcare CEO Murder)
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to both state and federal charges. He could see the death penalty in the federal case.
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Isn’t denying a needed medical procedure which causes the death of the insured patient, Murder? United healthcare has been sued many times. They are the evil here. What was the shooters motive, did he have a family member die due to being denied a needed procedure? I do not know! But it will be interesting to find out. He deserves a fair trial; innocent until proven guilty ? It seems too many are ready to find him guilty without due process. I guess that goes along with the fact that we no longer have a Justice system here in the US, it has been replaced with a legal system with whomever has the most $$$ wins.
The murder was seen by all! There is no question of his guilt! He must receive the death penalty!
The defense will piss away that money in a week.