Case of Alleged United Healthcare CEO Murderer Luigi Mangione Becomes an Internet Flashpoint

            On the morning of December 4, 2024, Luigi Mangione allegedly shot the CEO of United Healthcare, Brian Thompson, three times. Thompson sustained severe injuries and died later that morning. Very soon after, the internet flocked to Mangione’s defense.

            Luigi Mangione is a 26-year-old University of Pennsylvania graduate from a wealthy Maryland family. He was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania on the December 9 on charges of forgery, carrying a firearm without a license, possessing instruments of crime, and presenting false identification to authorities. When he was arrested, the murder weapon, fingerprints that matched those found at the scene of the crime, and a notebook attesting to his motive were found. After refusing extradition to New York, he was charged with second-degree murder, using a weapon with a silencer, and two counts of stalking in federal court. These charges render him eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

            The victim, Brian Thompson, joined the UnitedHealth Group in 2004 after graduating from the University of Iowa in 1997. He spent many years at the company before becoming CEO in 2021. He had conflicting policies and opinions. On the one hand, he was supportive of universal health care through private insurance, and on the other hand, he supported a United Healthcare policy that would withhold payment for emergency department visits that weren’t considered actual emergencies.

            In a survey conducted by the United States Census Bureau, 65.4% of participants were insured by private healthcare. Due to inflation and changing insurance plans that are less comprehensive and have higher deductibles, healthcare is slowly becoming more of a luxury. The notebook found on Mangione’s person when he was arrested indicated contempt for the insurance executives he held responsible for this. Additionally, Mangione underwent surgery for a spinal injury in July of 2023. He seemed to have been suffering from spondylolisthesis, a condition that affects the vertebrae in the spine. An official statement from the NYPD on the day of Mangione’s arrest said, “The alleged perpetrator was likely driven to violence on the basis of grievances against what he perceives as a ‘parasitic’ health insurance company and industry as a whole, as well as broader objections to corporate greed and a concern for modern society.” The statement also said that the notebook found on him at the time of his arrest contains a “statement signifying that he likely views himself as a hero of sorts who has finally decided to act upon such injustices.”

            The internet - and many members of the Athenian community - agree.

“The main thing that I know about him is internet propaganda and people obsessing over him,” said sophomore Maria Grigg. “From what I’ve seen, it seems like the majority of people online support him. People are saying ‘free him’ and ‘I’ll go pay his bail.’”

History Department Chair April Smock recently discussed Mangione in her class “Race in the United States.” She and her students discussed the “folk hero” narrative and how Mangione’s whiteness plays a role in the positive light he’s portrayed in. They also talked about his motive and some of the thought and reasoning behind his actions.

 “We have commodified people’s health. That in and of itself is problematic,” April said. “Health and healthcare have been made into a business.”

The healthcare situation is becoming increasingly critical for Americans. As costs in healthcare insurance rise, employers--a large portion of payers in the private healthcare industry--who offer healthcare plans will begin to offer less exhaustive plans with increased premiums. The financial burden of healthcare will increase for the employee. This burden will gradually see the number of uninsured Americans rise, eventually making its way into the lower middle class.

“People who are suffering are at the mercy of the insurance companies that they pay into. But  insurance companies can decide whether to approve or deny a claim. Oftentimes the frustration can be difficult to manage, particularly if you don’t have means and genuinely need that additional financial support to care for your health,” said April. “The system is broken for a lot of people and it’s created legitimate frustrations.”

Mangione has received strong support from people online, indicating that his viewpoint was not a unique one among younger people. The broken system brought people to Mangione’s defense. Generation Lab, a data intelligence company that studies young people, recently polled college-age students. In the poll, 15% of students said that Mangione’s actions were “totally justified” while another 33% believed he was “somewhat justified.” 45% of students said that they empathized with Mangione more than Thompson. 

 “I have no doubt in my mind that UnitedHealthcare will go on. The bigger problem is not being addressed, but it feels satisfying to people. It has that feeling of finally someone’s doing something about the issue,” said April. “I don’t doubt that this issue needs to be addressed, I just don’t think there’s any long-term benefit to what happened.”