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Luigi Mangione
American homicide suspect (born 1998) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Luigi Nicholas Mangione (/ˌmændʒiˈoʊni/ ⓘ MAN-jee-OH-nee;[2][3] born May 6, 1998) is an American man accused of killing Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare.
Thompson was shot and killed in New York City on December 4, 2024. Following a nationwide manhunt, Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, five days after the shooting.[4] He has been indicted on eleven state charges and four federal charges,[5] including first-degree murder,[a] murder in furtherance of terrorism, criminal possession of a weapon, and stalking.[6][7] Federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in Mangione's federal case.[8][b]
Mangione has been described as the "most debated and polarizing murder suspect in recent history".[9] Since his arrest, he has been celebrated as a folk hero by supporters.[10][11] Opinion polls have found that American adult respondents are more likely than not to hold a negative view toward Mangione, with younger and more liberal respondents more likely to view him favorably.[12][13] The support Mangione has generated has been connected to negative opinions of the U.S. health insurance industry and claim denial practices.[14]
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Early life, education, and career
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Luigi Nicholas Mangione was born in Towson, Maryland,[15] on May 6, 1998, to Kathleen (née Zannino) and Louis Mangione, a Baltimore-area couple of Italian descent.[16] He has two older sisters.[9] His paternal grandfather, Nicholas Mangione, was a successful Baltimore businessman[16] with 10 children (five sons and five daughters) and 37 grandchildren;[15][17] one of his grandchildren is Nino Mangione, a Maryland House of Delegates member.[18]
Mangione attended Gilman School, an all-boys private secondary school in Baltimore, where he participated in sports such as soccer, track, cross country, and wrestling.[19] He developed an interest in video games and video game development,[20] teaching himself how to code[20] and co-founding a gaming app development company.[21][22] Mangione graduated as the valedictorian of his class in 2016, and his valedictorian speech focused on the impact of artificial intelligence and technology on society.[23][9]
Mangione attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated cum laude in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) in computer engineering and a Master of Science in Engineering (MSE) in computer and information science.[24][25] His undergraduate studies included a minor in mathematics, and his graduate curriculum concentrated on artificial intelligence.[26][20] While an undergraduate student, Mangione completed a robotics research internship at the Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins University[22] and was a UI programming intern with Firaxis Games between May 2016 and August 2017,[27] where he worked on the video game Civilization VI.[28] During the summer of 2019, he served as a head counselor for Stanford University's artificial intelligence pre-collegiate studies program in California.[29][9]
In November 2020, Mangione began working remotely as a data engineer for TrueCar.[30][31] He left his job at the end of February 2023, sharing with his former classmate that "Data engineering paid super well but was mind-numbingly boring" and that he wanted to "spend more time reading and doing yoga."[9]
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Alleged role in the killing of Brian Thompson
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Arrest
Brian Thompson, CEO of the American health insurance company UnitedHealthcare, was shot and killed in Midtown Manhattan on December 4, 2024. The shooting occurred early in the morning outside an entrance to the New York Hilton Midtown hotel and was captured on video. Thompson was shot in the leg and the back.[32] Thompson was in the city to attend an annual investors' meeting for UnitedHealthcare's parent company, UnitedHealth Group. The suspect, initially described as a white man wearing a mask, fled the scene.[33] The gunman was masked and had come to New York via a bus from Atlanta.[34][35] The words "delay", "deny", and "depose" were written on the spent cases and an ejected cartridge.[36][37][38] The three words are similar to "Delay, Deny, Defend", a well-known phrase in the insurance industry alluding to insurance companies' efforts to avoid paying claims.[39] The suspect was seen at a bus terminal after the killing.[40] In a Central Park wooded area, New York police discovered a backpack—which supposedly the gunman had disposed of—that contained Monopoly money and a Tommy Hilfiger jacket.[34]
After a five-day nationwide manhunt, local police arrested Mangione at a McDonald's restaurant on East Plank Road in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9, 2024. The police responded to a call from an employee made after a customer noticed similarities between Mangione's appearance and images of Thompson's alleged killer released by the New York City Police Department (NYPD).[41][42][43] Altoona is about 280 miles (450 km) west of New York City.[44] The police reported that Mangione was "visibly shaken" when they asked him if he had recently visited New York City.[45]
Upon searching Mangione, police said they found a 3D-printed gun and a 3D-printed suppressor that were similar to the weapons used in the shooting. Police stated that they also found a fake driver's license from New Jersey bearing the name "Mark Rosario." A man who checked into a Manhattan hostel in late November used the same license.[4][44][46][47] Shell casings found at the crime scene reportedly matched the gun found on Mangione.[48] The police also said that when they arrested him, they found a 262-word handwritten document partly about the American healthcare system.[49][50] Mangione had no prior criminal record.[51]
Handwritten document
Upon Mangione's arrest, police said they found in his possession a 262-word handwritten document, which many media outlets characterized as a "manifesto".[52] The handwritten document spoke to Mangione's "motivation and mindset," according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.[53][29] Journalist Ken Klippenstein published a transcription of the document police said was found on him. Police confirmed that the transcription was legitimate.[54][55][56] The document reads:
To the Feds, I'll keep this short, because I do respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn't working with anyone. This was fairly trivial: some elementary social engineering, basic CAD, a lot of patience. The spiral notebook, if present, has some straggling notes and To Do [sic] lists that illuminate the gist of it. My tech is pretty locked down because I work in engineering so probably not much info there. I do apologize for any strife of [sic?] traumas but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming. A reminder: the US has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy. United is the [indecipherable] largest company in the US by market cap, behind only Apple, Google, Walmart. It has grown and grown, but as [sic] our life expectancy? No the reality is, these [indecipherable] have simply gotten too powerful, and they continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has allwed [sic] them to get away with it. Obviously the problem is more complex, but I do not have space, and frankly I do not pretend to be the most qualified person to lay out the full argument. But many have illuminated the corruption and greed (e.g.: Rosenthal, Moore), decades ago and the problems simply remain. It is not an issue of awareness at this point, but clearly power games at play. Evidently I am the first to face it with such brutal honesty.[54]
The complaint filed by the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York calls the letter "The Feds Letter" because it is addressed "To the Feds."[57] The complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney's office also stated: 'P.S. you can check serial numbers to verify this is all self-funded. My own ATM withdrawals.',[58] which is not shown in the document released by Klippenstein.[54]
State and federal charges
On December 9, 2024, Mangione was charged in Blair County, Pennsylvania, with carrying a gun without a license, forgery, falsely identifying himself to the authorities, and possessing "instruments of crime."[53] He was arraigned at approximately 6 p.m. at the Blair County Courthouse on firearms charges, was questioned by members of the NYPD,[59] and was denied bail.[53][60][61] As he was led into the courthouse, Mangione shouted to the gathered cameras that the news media coverage of the event was "completely out of touch" and "an insult to the intelligence of the American people and their lived experience."[62][63][64]
Later that day, Mangione was charged in Manhattan with second-degree murder,[a] three counts of illegal weapons possession, and forgery.[53][65] He was temporarily transferred to the State Correctional Institution at Huntingdon, a close-security state correctional facility in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania.[66]
On December 17, 2024, the Manhattan district attorney's office indicted Mangione on 11 New York state charges.[7]
English Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Mangione was extradited to New York City on December 19, 2024, and charged with four federal crimes.[68][69] On December 23, he was arraigned in the New York Supreme Court and pleaded not guilty to his state charges.[70] On April 17, 2025, he was formally indicted on his federal charges.[71]
Possible remedies for murder through the use of a firearm—the third federal charge—include the death penalty.[72] During his second presidency, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that requires the death penalty to be used wherever possible.[73] U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on April 1, 2025, that prosecutors would seek the death penalty in Mangione's federal case.[b] The state charges carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.[74][75][76][77]
Mangione is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn under Federal Register Number 52503-511. He will remain at MDC Brooklyn until his trial.[68]
Defense
English Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Mangione retained defense attorney Thomas Dickey for his Pennsylvania case.[78][79] On December 13, he retained Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a former prosecutor at the Manhattan district attorney's office and former legal analyst with CNN, as his defense attorney for the New York case.[80] He later hired prison consultant Craig Rothfeld to assist with matters related to his incarceration.[81]
Mangione pleaded not guilty to all of the Pennsylvania and New York charges. After the announcement of the death penalty in April, his New York defense team requested that the judge block the Justice Department from pursuing the death penalty, arguing that the decision was a "publicity stunt"[82] and "consistent with the new culture of the highest levels of the Justice Department, one that values personal will over process, publicity over discretion and partisan politics over justice."[83]
On December 13, crowdfunding platform GoFundMe removed fundraisers created to support Mangione due to the site's terms of service prohibiting fundraisers for the legal defense of violent crimes.[84] A GiveSendGo fundraiser has remained live and, as of May 2025, has raised over US$1 million.[85] Donors have cited the "politicization" of the case, the potential use of the death penalty, due process, and frustrations with the healthcare system as reasons for their donations.[75][86][87] Karen Friedman Agnifilo told Newsweek that Mangione is "aware of the fund and very much appreciates the outpouring of support" and "plans on utilizing it to fight all three of the unprecedented cases against him."[88][89] On February 14, 2025, Mangione's New York defense team launched a website dedicated to providing updates on his prosecutions due to the "extraordinary volume of inquiries and outpouring of support."[90]
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Personal life
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After graduation, Mangione moved to Hawaii and resided at Surfbreak, a co-living space in Honolulu, from January to June 2022.[91][92] An avid reader,[93] he co-founded a book club at Surfbreak in 2023; the book club ended when Mangione left Hawaii later that year.[9]
In February 2024, Mangione told a friend that he was "going backpacking for awhile,"[9] and did a solo trip through East and Southeast Asia, visiting Japan, Thailand, and other countries.[93]
In the summer of 2024, Mangione stopped posting on social media.[94] His family members reached out to his past friends for help in tracking him down, but were unsuccessful.[93] On November 18, 2024, his mother reported him missing to the San Francisco Police Department; she stated that the family had not heard from him since July.[95] She contacted the SFPD because she believed that he was living in San Francisco and still worked for TrueCar, which had an office there.[96]
Health
Mangione had discussed getting Lyme disease at age 13, and wrote that he had been experiencing brain fog since high school.[93] He had also sought advice online regarding irritable bowel syndrome and visual snow.[93] While studying at the University of Pennsylvania, Mangione wrote in a post online that he had considered dropping out due to worsening health issues, but decided against it, writing, "Staying in college has at least let me maintain some semblance of normality".[97]
Mangione has written that he suffers from spondylolisthesis.[98] While he was living in Hawaii, his back pain worsened due to a surfing mishap, and he had expressed concerns to others about the pain.[94][92] He reportedly underwent a spinal fusion surgery in July 2023[98][93] and wrote on social media that the surgery went well.[94] Police have stated that UnitedHealthcare did not insure Mangione.[99][100]
Social media presence
After his arrest, several news outlets analyzed Mangione's social media to gather information about his social, political, and religious views.[101] His Twitter account posted about topics such as "religion, history, ethics, and politics"[102] and they found him to be "fascinated by AI and decision theory; pro-technology but anti-smartphones; secular and scientific in his outlook."[103][102][101]
Mangione showed a skeptical attitude toward both Joe Biden and Donald Trump.[104] Multiple sources have reported that he followed Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as well as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and others, labeling him as politically uncategorized and "anti-system."[101][105][106] Time magazine said it could not discern whether his political views were left- or right-wing.[51] The Spectator wrote that his worldview "wasn't pinned to a standard left-right axis."[107] Jacobin stated he held "a hodgepodge of views and political beliefs that don't neatly map onto any one category on the political spectrum."[108] Maryland's state voter records indicate that Mangione is registered as having no party affiliation.[109]
Mangione posted a Goodreads review of "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski's Industrial Society and Its Future,[110] describing Kaczynski as "rightfully imprisoned" and criticizing his use of violence against innocent individuals. The review was quoted as writing, "Clearly written by a mathematics prodigy. Reads like a series of lemmas on the question of 21st century quality of life", and "It's easy to quickly and thoughtless [sic] write this off as the manifesto of a lunatic, in order to avoid facing some of the uncomfortable problems it identifies [...] but it's simply impossible to ignore how prescient many of his predictions about modern society turned out." The review, which gave the manifesto four out of five stars, also contained a quote the reviewer claimed to have found online. The quote included the lines "'Violence never solved anything' is a statement uttered by cowards and predators" and "When all other forms of communication fail, violence is necessary to survive."[111][112][113]
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Public image
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Graffiti from many cities in support of Mangione. Reading from top to bottom: "Deny Defend Depose" in New York City and Miami Beach, Florida, respectively, "Luigi Mangione hero of the people" in Marseille, France.
After his arrest, Mangione quickly emerged as a polarizing figure, described by the Rolling Stone as the "most debated and polarizing murder suspect in recent history".[9] He received significant online support,[45][114] with many celebrating him as a folk hero[115][10] and a modern-day Robin Hood.[116][117] The hashtag "#FreeLuigi" and its variations have been shared over 50,000 times on Twitter by those advocating for his release.[118] Images and memes, including one portraying Mangione as a Roman Catholic saint, have circulated online,[119] and items and merchandise in support of Mangione were posted on e-commerce sites such as Etsy and Amazon.[120][121] The support for Mangione extended beyond social media, as public displays of support appeared in forms of street art, graffiti, and signs across various locations,[122][123] including a billboard displaying the words "Free Luigi" in Riverside County, California,[124] and a mural depicting Mangione as the Nintendo character Luigi in Seattle.[125] Mangione's fellow inmates at SCI Huntingdon in Pennsylvania were heard shouting "Free Luigi" from their cells during a live broadcast interview with NewsNation,[126] and groups of people gathered at the courthouses to express their support for Mangione during his court hearings.[127][128] On February 14, 2025, Mangione thanked the public in his first official statement since his arrest, stating that "the support has transcended political, racial, and even class divisions."[90]
Charlie Warzel of The Atlantic wrote that to some, Mangione is an "expression of the depth of righteous anger present in American life right now, a symbol of justified violence."[129] Following the Thompson killing, anger erupted on social media platforms at Thompson, UnitedHealth,[130] and the U.S. health insurance system generally, with many praising the killing.[131] The support Mangione has generated has been connected to the public's often negative view of the American health insurance industry and what many consider to be unfair claim denial practices that inflict harm,[132][133] and the case has spurred growing calls for health insurance reform.[134] A December 2024 NORC at the University of Chicago poll found that most American adults believe that health insurance companies' denials for health care coverage and/or profits made by those companies share a moderate amount or a great deal of responsibility for Thompson's death.[135][136]
Regarded as one of the "most polarizing figures in American pop culture,"[137] public opinion on Mangione has been mixed. A December 2024 Economist/YouGov poll found that 43% of American citizens held an unfavorable view of Mangione, while 21% viewed him favorably. Support for him was notably higher among citizens aged 18–29 and those identifying as very liberal, while older and more conservative individuals tended to view him unfavorably.[12] Similarly, a December 2024 online poll by the Center for Strategic Politics found that 61% of respondents had a negative perception of Mangione, while 19% held a positive view. They found that opinions on him vary "dramatically" by age, with younger respondents expressing more favorable views than those over 45[13] and viewing Mangione "far more favorably" than Thompson and UnitedHealthcare.[138][139]
Mangione has been the subject of multiple documentaries, TV shows, news specials, and a satirical comedy musical.[140][141]
Perp walk
After being transported from Pennsylvania to New York on December 19, Mangione received a highly publicized perp walk, escorted by many heavily armed law enforcement officials and Mayor of New York City Eric Adams.[142] Stanford Law School professor Robert Weisberg said: "The FBI and NYDA could have transported Mangione discreetly, but they opted for a public show."[143] Some legal experts stated that the perp walk was a "blatant and unnecessary attempt at self-promotion."[142]
Policy director for the Justice Collaboratory at Yale Law School Jorge Camacho said: "In a case like Mangione's, where the suspect has garnered some sympathy and applause from people frustrated with greedy health-care insurance companies, the [perp walk] can backfire."[144] Memes in support of Mangione circulated on social media, many of which compared his perp walk to the arrest of Jesus, perp walk scenes from the Superman movies, and Renaissance paintings.[145] During Mangione's New York court hearing on December 23, his defense attorney called the perp walk "unnecessary" and "utterly political".[146]
Physical appearance
Mangione has been noted for his perceived physical attractiveness,[147][137] and Kara Alaimo, writing for Time, stated that he has become "somewhat of an online sex symbol."[51]
After Mangione's Manhattan courtroom appearance on December 23, Maison Margiela trended on Twitter and Threads after social media users misidentified the brand of the burgundy sweater that Mangione was wearing. Users later determined that he was wearing a "washable Merino crewneck sweater" from Nordstrom, which social media users nicknamed 'Mangione Merino,'[148] and quickly sold out.[149] After his February 2025 court appearance, photographs of Mangione's shackled bare ankles in brown loafers went viral, with the search terms "luigi mangione loafers" and "luigi mangione ankles" spiking by 1,400% and 500%, respectively, on Google.[150][151][152] Regarding Mangione's online popularity, criminologist Diana Rickard told Women's Wear Daily: "What we see with Mangione is he has quickly become a folk hero and a fashion folk hero."[149]
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Notes
- The state of New York defines first- and second-degree murder differently than most states. Usually, premeditated murder is first-degree; in New York, it is second-degree, with first-degree being reserved for a premeditated murder with one of a list of aggravating factors. The only possibly applicable one in Mangione's case is murder committed as an act of terrorism. See Murder in New York law.
- If convicted, a federal death sentence requires a unanimous jury verdict. If the jury deadlocks on sentencing, it defaults to life imprisonment, even if only one juror is opposed. See Capital punishment in the United States § Sentencing.
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References
External links
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