The murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City took social media by a storm after authorities apprehended the suspected shooter Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old former ivy league student. The case has sparked debate over wealth, class differences and crime, and young voters have decisively taken a side in the conversation.
U.S. voters between the ages of 18 and 29 were more likely than their elders to accept Thompson's killing, with 41% saying the murder was "acceptable" or "somewhat acceptable."
Those figures come from a recently published Emerson College poll, which surveyed 1,000 adults between Dec. 11-13. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Most voters (68%) think the actions of the killer against Thompson were unacceptable, while 17% found them acceptable. Among young voters, 40% found them unacceptable, while 24% found them "somewhat acceptable" and 17% "completely acceptable," Axios report.
Thompson's murder right outside his hotel made rounds in social media, even before Mangione was arrested in Pennsylvania, with some users cataloguing him as a folk hero while others pointed out systemic wealth inequality in the U.S., in which the CEO reported over $16 billion in operating profits in 2023.
His arrest, and the reveal of his personal information such as Mangione's chronic back pain, didn't help to slow down the online commentary, as younger voters showed solidarity for the 26-year-old. Mangione faces a murder charge and others in New York and other forgery, gun-related and misdemeanor charges in Pennsylvania.
"Luigi Mangione serves face as he is led into court!" Luigi Mangione Updates, a fan account, wrote on X last week, along with a photo of the suspect being escorted by the police.
Mangione's support also faces a partisan split and a small gender gap. The Emerson poll found 22% of Democrats found the killer's actions acceptable, while 59% found them unacceptable. Among Republicans, 12% found the actions acceptable while 16% of independents said the same.
Men (19%) found the killer's actions slightly more acceptable than women (14%).
Details of the murder made it all the way to Washington, where politicians on both sides of the aisle denounced the act, but some pointed out the root of the violence as a need for policy change.
"It's really important that we take a step back, this is not to comment and this is not to say that an act of violence is justified, but I think for anyone who is confused or shocked or appalled, they need to understand that people interpret and feel and experience denied claims as an act of violence against them," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said in a recent appearance on CBS.
President-elect Donald Trump also commented on the matter, calling it a terrible act and criticizing those who are celebrating the suspect.
"I think it's a terrible thing. I think it's really terrible that some people seem to admire [Mangione], like him," Trump said during a press conference in Mar-a-Lago. "I was happy to see that it wasn't specific to this gentleman that was killed. It's just an overall sickness as opposed to a specific sickness. That was a terrible thing. It was a cold blooded, just a cold blooded horrible killing and how people can like this guy, that's a sickness."
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