UnitedHealthcare is a large health insurance company, offering insurance plans in all states. Many Americans are not a big fan of UnitedHealthcare because they are not only one of the most expensive health insurance companies in the United States, but they are also notorious for denying claims.
The frustration, while unexpected, lead to a shooting that occurred on Dec. 4, 2024, outside a hotel. This shot and killed the UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, in Manhattan. The bullets at the scene had the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” written on them. This phrase has been created in order to voice that insurance companies tend to deny their customers and defend themselves, not their customers in a court.
Before the shooter was found, the nation became split. Some were considering Luigi Mangione, the man who was found to have shot Thompson, a hero. Others considered Mangione to be a villain, that there did not have to be a murder of someone who has a family that misses him.
While the search for Mangione occurred, the internet received a surge of memes explaining how Mangione is a conventionally attractive man. He was eventually found on Dec. 9, after he was reported by a McDonald’s employee. The internet once again went crazy, as out of all places to be caught, he was caught at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania. People began to review bomb McDonald’s, to which Google had to remove the negative reviews relating to Mangione, saying he should not have been caught.
Mangione was sent to jail in Pennsylvania and was trying to avoid extradition to New York, the state of the crime. In an interview on NewsNation, inmates of Mangione can be heard screaming “Free Luigi” on camera.
In late December, Mangione was put on trial in a New York courtroom for 11 state charges, including first-degree murder as an act of terrorism. He pleaded not guilty but was charged with all 11 state charges. He is currently in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center waiting for his next trial.
As of today, the court proceedings scheduled for Jan. 18 are under the possibility of a delay to late February due to lawyers needing more time to prepare for the case, especially since more than one charge is eligible for the death penalty.
More information can be obtained at the UVU Review when the proceedings occur, and a final verdict and sentence is given.
