Fans of the alleged assassin of the UnitedHealthcare CEO have been desperately trying to raise money for his legal defense, as they flooded the internet with a wave of support.
Luigi Mangione, 26, is an ‘anti-capitalist’ Ivy League graduate who was taken into custody after a McDonald’s employee in Altoona, around 100 miles east of Pittsburgh, believed they recognized him as the gunman who murdered UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Brian Thompson on December 4 in the middle of New York City.
Mangione has been arrested on firearms charges in Pennsylvania. As of Monday evening, he was officially charged with murder in New York.
Since he was formally charged, his countless fans have been trying to raise money for his defence against the allegations.
Multiple short-lived campaigns appeared on GoFundMe that were quickly taken down by the donations site.
One page’s description, titled ‘Legal Defense for Suspect in UnitedHealthCare [sic] CEO death’ read: ‘Raising legal funds for the suspect accused of killing the UnitedHealthCare CEO who announced they would deny payment for anesthesia during surgeries that ran long or had complications.
‘This is a very emotionally and politically charged issue. Everyone deserves a fair trial and competent legal representation.’
Another read: ‘Luigi has risked everything to stand up to corporations that are destroying American lives.
Luigi Mangione, 26, is an ‘anti-capitalist’ alleged gunman who murdered UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Brian Thompson on December 4
Fans tried setting up donation pages to fund his legal battle against the charges
‘It is our duty to support this man so his story can be told and why it matters to us and our families. We the people for the people!’
GoFundMe’s terms and conditions clearly state that pages raising money for ‘the legal defense of financial and violent crimes, including those related to money laundering, murder, robbery, assault, battery, sex crimes, or crimes against minors’ are not allowed.
But other fundraising sites have kept campaigns in support of Mangione up.
There are at least two GiveSendGo pages that have collectively raised nearly $8,000 for Mangione’s defense.
One page’s description read: ‘Funds are being raised to pay Mr. Mangione’s legal fees incurred by the criminal charges filed and any future civil lawsuits that may arise, as well as expenses related to his defense. All contributions are greatly appreciated.
‘Any proceeds collected, which exceed those necessary to cover Mr. Mangione’s legal defense, will be donated to an appropriate charity to be determined at a later date.’
The other page’s description read: ‘This is a preemptive legal fundraiser for the suspect allegedly involved in the shooting of the United Healthcare CEO. We are not here to celebrate violence, but we do believe in the constitutional right of fair legal representation. Please share in your networks!
‘Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old born and raised in Maryland, was taken into custody as a suspect in this case on December 9th. Efforts are underway to get in touch with him and his lawyers. All proceeds will be sent directly to Luigi or, if he chooses to reject the funds, they will instead be donated to legal funds for other U.S political prisoners.’
Mangione was spotted on surveillance camera at a hostel in NYC
Mangione is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson at point-blank range on December 5
It comes amid a wave of support for Mangione. While some have supported his alleged killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, many are simply thirsting over the Ivy League-educated killer.
One post to X read: ‘He took action against private health insurance corporations is what he did. He was a brave Italian martyr. In this house, Luigi Mangione is a hero, end of story!’
Another read: ‘Luigi Mangione’s lawyer should put the entire health insurance industry on trial and argue that Mangione was defending the public from a predatory CEO who profited off killing and bankrupting people.’
A third simply said: ‘Luigi Mangione is an Ivy League Italian frat boy who’s [a] huge bookworm, loves reading comic and Pokémon also does weightlifting.
‘That man is literally handmade for me and they just put him behind the bars.’
Luigi Mangione was apparently left startled after McDonald’s employees recognized him after five days on the run.
Sources told DailyMail.com that several staff members noticed the masked man, who sat quietly reading after ordering a drink from the fast food establishment.
One employee then called the authorities after a customer also mentioned quietly to them that he resembled the man that authorities had been hunting for nearly a week.
The alleged killer was pictured inside his jail cell
An X-ray image appeared to show Mangione’s surgery
Mangione arrives at court on Monday night after being captured by Altoona Police
When police arrived, they found the suspect wearing a medical mask and looking at a silver laptop computer, with his backpack on the floor near the table, according to charging documents.
As soon as he pulled down the mask, rookie Altoona Police Officer Tyler Frye said he and his partner immediately recognized him as the suspect accused of gunning down Thompson on December 4.
‘We just didn’t think twice about it. We knew that was our guy,’ Frye told reporters at a news conference Monday night.
Police say Mangione proceeded to give officers a New Jersey driver’s license bearing the name Mark Rosario with the birth date of July 21, 1998.
When a cop then asked him if he had been to New York recently, he ‘began to shake,’ the charging documents say.
‘He became visibly nervous, kind of shaking at that question. And he didn’t really answer it directly,’ Altoona Police Chief Derek Swope said.
‘The suspect didn’t have to say a lot after that question to show that he was very nervous about [the officers].’
Luigi Mangione, 26, was taken into custody on firearm charges Monday afternoon
He reportedly gave police a fake ID when they started to question him
But cops at the scene soon realized the New Jersey driver’s license was a fake, at which point one officer told him that he was under official police investigation and if he lied about his identity, he would be arrested.
Upon hearing this, Mangione allegedly provided officers with his true identity.
When he was then asked why he lied about his name, the suspect is said to have replied, ‘I clearly shouldn’t have.’
In the end, Frye said, Mangione ‘was very cooperative with us’ and ‘didn’t give us too many issues.
‘Once we found out his identity, we took it from there,’ said the rookie, who has only been on the force for six months.
Mangione ultimately went calmly and quietly with officers outside of the McDonald’s, and staff members said there was minimal disruption to their work day.
‘We all just want to know why and how he ended up in our little town, because it doesn’t make any sense,’ one employee told DailyMail.com.
‘There isn’t a lot of footfall around here, it’s not a big city’.