Federal prosecutors filed new charges against Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the fatal shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, on Thursday. The unsealed complaint revealed some of the writings that police allegedly found in Mangione's notebook when he was taken into custody.
In the complaint, the Department of Justice alleges Mangione kept a notebook in the months leading up to the fatal shooting, writing in an Aug. 15 entry that “the target is insurance.” Mangione allegedly wrote that an attack on an insurance company "checks every box."
In a later entry that federal authorities cited in the complaint, they claim that Mangione marveled at his luck upon discovering the New York conference outside of which Thompson was killed.
“This investor conference is a true windfall ... and — most importantly — the message becomes self-evident,” the notebook read.
Prosecutors further allege the notebook “describes an intent to ‘wack’ the CEO of one of the insurance companies at its investor conference.”
The federal complaint also contains surveillance photos of Mangione, a scan of his New Jersey fake ID, and a photo of a firearm Mangione was allegedly carrying at the time of his arrest. The complaint describes the gun as “consistent with the weapon” used to kill Thompson.
Mangione was transported to New York on Thursday to face murder, stalking, and weapons charges. He was escorted by a large gathering of local and federal law enforcement, as well as New York City Mayor Eric Adams. He was taken to a Manhattan federal courtroom where he heard the charges against hi,.
The four federal charges – two counts of stalking, one count of murder with a firearm, and one count of using a weapon equipped with a silencer – come on top of 11 state-level charges filed in New York.
Mangione, who did not immediately request bail during the hearing, has attracted widespread support online. Crowdfunds for his legal expenses exceeding $160,000 on the platform GiveSendGo.
A Wednesday Emerson poll found that amongst voters aged 18 to 29, a whopping 41 percent viewed United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killing as “acceptable,” a bigger share than that of young voters who approve of President Joe Biden. In a Tuesday press conference, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch condemned the support for Mangione as “shocking and appalling.”
