The internet has exploded overnight with talk of Luigi Mangione, the person of interest in the assassination of United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson. But the internet reaction to this killer is pretty unprecedented...
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00:00The internet is thirsting over this suspected assassin. But how exactly did a high-profile
00:04hit turn the primary suspect into an internet celebrity? Luigi Mangione is a 26-year-old
00:09who's believed to be the suspect in the high-profile execution of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
00:14While the internet usually has a big reaction to alleged criminals,
00:18a good portion of the online reaction to this one has been unusually supportive.
00:22So how is Luigi avoiding the scorn that most suspected killers would receive?
00:26The answer has to do with his good looks, social media presence, and the politics surrounding the
00:30shooting. Here's the full story. At approximately 6.04 a.m. EST on December 4, 2024, UnitedHealthcare
00:36CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down outside of the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan.
00:40According to the NYPD, Thompson was soon after pronounced dead at a midtown hospital.
00:44The suspect then fled on foot and later on a bike, originally reported as a city bike.
00:49Quickly, word of the incident spread online, with images of the suspect from CCTV footage
00:53of the crime being released by the police, as well as actual surveillance footage of the event
00:57being leaked on Twitter. As word spread of the crime, reactions poured in across the web,
01:01with an overwhelming number of users showing support for the gunman,
01:04sharing unexpectedly positive takes, reflecting public frustrations with UnitedHealthcare's
01:09practices and the largely corporate nature of the U.S. healthcare system in general.
01:12Users made many memes and jokes surrounding the murder in the context of bad health insurance
01:17practices as well as revolutionary principles. One user even left a balloon at the crime scene
01:22with a celebratory meme image reading,
01:24CEO DOWN.
01:25Hours into the investigation into Brian Thompson's death, detectives revealed that
01:28the shell casings found at the scene of the crime had the words DENY, DEFEND, and DEPOSE
01:32written on them. Internet sleuths quickly connected the words to a 2010 book by Jay
01:36Feynman titled Delay, Deny, Defend — Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and
01:40What You Can Do About It. The killer's decision to leave the cryptic message behind sparked
01:44comparisons to the Batman villain The Riddler, known for his hatred of insurance companies
01:48and their exploitative practices. Meanwhile, several images started circulating of a person
01:53of interest in the case. For example, on December 5th, unmasked photos of the person of interest
01:57were shared to X by the NYPD. The photos only fueled the support for the alleged assassin,
02:02as many were quick to compliment his riz and simp over the suspect's handsome smile.
02:06Even Saturday Night Live referenced the suspect's appearance in their weekend update segment.
02:10And it really says something about America that a guy was murdered in cold blood
02:14and the two main reactions were, yeah, well, healthcare stinks.
02:18And also, girl, that shooter hot.
02:20On December 9th, the police located their person of interest, who was identified as
02:2426-year-old Luigi Mangione. Mangione was detained at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania,
02:29reportedly carrying a manifesto, a fake ID, and a ghost firearm that matched the description of the
02:35firearm used to kill Thompson. According to the New York Post, Mangione was a Maryland native
02:39and valedictorian of his Baltimore high school. He later received a bachelor's and a master's
02:43degree in science and engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. With the reveal
02:47of his identity, internet sleuths were quick to dig up images of Mangione, as well as information
02:52about him, including his prior social media activity, all of which fueled the internet frenzy.
02:56For example, one X user posted photos of Mangione with the caption,
03:00The manhunt has now ended with investigators declaring too hot to convict.
03:04In addition to simping over his looks, users also made jokes surrounding his Italian-sounding name,
03:08with some memes even imagining him as Luigi from Super Mario Bros.
03:12Users also shared Mangione's past social media presence, including his Instagram and Twitter
03:17history. On Twitter, he tended to engage with and promote content from Elon Musk, Andrew Huberman,
03:22and others in the tech world. Some users went back and interacted with some of his former posts,
03:26like, for example, this classic PhD joke which he made in response to another user,
03:30which, despite having been posted in May, garnered a huge uptick in likes after his detainment.
03:35What do you think of the craze surrounding the suspected killer? Is his newfound notoriety
03:39warranted or completely inappropriate? Let us know in the comments,
03:42and be sure to like and subscribe for the latest in internet culture.