Prosecutors in New York were working Thursday to file murder charges against Luigi Mangione shameless murder UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s supporters are donating tens of thousands of dollars to a defense fund set up for him, leaving law enforcement concerned that Mangione will become a martyr.
Several online advocacy funds have been set up for Mangione by anonymous people, including on the crowdfunding website GiveSendGo, which had raised more than $50,000 as of Thursday afternoon.
The GiveSendGo defense fund for 26-year-old Mangione was created by an anonymous group calling itself the “December 4th Legal Committee,” after Mangione allegedly ambushed and shot Thompson as he walked toward the executive in Midtown Manhattan. the company’s shareholders’ conference at the New York Hilton Hotel.
Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the murder of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson of New York, leaves after an extradition hearing at the Blair County Court House in Hollidaysburg, Pa., Dec. 10, 2024.
Jeff Swensen/Getty Images
“We are not here to celebrate violence, but we believe in the constitutional right to fair legal representation,” the anonymous group said in a statement.
The crowdfunding campaign prompted donations from more than 1,500 anonymous donors across the country, many of whom left messages of support for Mangione, including one who called himself a “frustrated citizen” and thanked Mangione for “raising awareness and thought in this sleepy nation.” .”
The GiveSendGo fund for Mangione appears to have been briefly removed before being restored on Thursday.
In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for GiveSendGo said the company “operates on a principle of not preemptively determining guilt or innocence.”
“Our platform does not judge legal issues or the validity of causes. Instead, we allow campaigns to survive as long as they do not violate the specific conditions stated in our Terms of Use. Importantly, we support legal defense fund campaigns, as we all believe. Access to due process it’s worth it,” said a GiveSendGo spokesperson.
The spokesperson added: “We understand the concerns raised by campaigns and take these matters seriously. When campaigns are reported, our team conducts a thorough review to ensure they comply with our policies. While other platforms may choose a different approach, GiveSendGo’s core value . is to provide a space where all people, regardless of their situation, can seek and receive help, with donors making their own informed decisions.’
Other crowdfunding sites, such as GoFundMe, have removed campaigns soliciting donations for Mangione’s defense.
“GoFundMe’s Terms of Service prohibit fundraising for the legal defense of violent crimes,” the crowdfunding website said in a statement. “Fundraising has been removed from our platform and all donors have been returned.”
ABC News obtained this photo of the suspect.
Obtained by ABC News
Amazon and Etsy have removed merchandise featuring Mangione from their websites, including T-shirts and bags that read “Free Luigi” and “Deny, Defend, Remove,” words that police said were engraved on shell casings found at the scene of Thompson’s murder. the murder
“To celebrate this behavior is disgusting to me. It’s very troubling,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told ABC News lead investigative reporter Aaron Katersky. a conversation Wednesday night “And what I would say to the citizens, to the people who are celebrating this as you described and maybe are considering other actions, is that we will be attentive and we will hold people accountable. We are ready.”
Prosecutors in the Manhattan district attorney’s office have begun presenting evidence to a grand jury as they work to try to get Mangione indicted, sources told ABC News on Thursday.
Mangione’s attorney, Thomas Dickey of Altoona, Pa., where Mangione was arrested Monday after a five-day manhunt, said his client is innocent and will plead not guilty to the charges against him. Mangione is fighting extradition to New York.
This undated photo provided by UnitedHealth Group shows UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
UnitedHealth Group via AP
Asked about the people contributing to Mangione’s defense funds who have come forward, Dickey said, “People are entitled to their opinion and, like I said, if you’re an American and you believe in the American criminal justice system, you have to believe that he’s innocent and none of us are.” would want that if we were in their shoes, so I’m glad he had some help.
In a later interview on CNN, Dickey said he tends not to accept money from supporters of his clients in his defense.
“To be honest with you, I probably wouldn’t,” Dickey told CNN. “I don’t feel comfortable about it. So, I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it that much. Obviously, my client appreciates the help he has, but I don’t know, he just does it. don’t sit with me, really.”
Retired FBI special agent Richard Frankel said suspects in previous politically charged violent crimes received unsolicited help.
“We saw it with the Unabomber,” ABC News correspondent Frankel said, referring to Ted Kaczynski, the terrorist mathematician who blamed technology for the decline of individual freedom between 1978 and 1995. .
Frankel said Eric Rudolph, who detonated a bomb in Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 Olympics and went on to carry out three more bombings during a five-year pursuit, also attracted supporters.
“I think they’re helping people who have committed potential terrorist acts, but it’s a politically charged act,” Frankel said.
Referring to Thompson’s murder, Frankel added, “You can be up in arms about the health care industry, but you can’t threaten or actually hurt members of the health care industry.”
Marine veteran Daniel Penny was recently acquitted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Jordan Neely, a homeless man who was riding erratically on a New York subway, after supporters donated more than $3 million to his legal defense fund.
Law enforcement officials have expressed concern that Mangione is being made a martyr. This week someone put up “pretty posters” outside the New York Stock Exchange, naming other directors.
A bulletin released Wednesday by the Delaware Valley Intelligence Center, a Philadelphia-based law enforcement intelligence-sharing network, included a photo of a banner hanging from an overpass that read: “Deny, Defend, Remove.”
“Many social media users have advocated for CEOs to continue to die, with some posting ‘hit lists’ to spread fear,” the newsletter, obtained by ABC News, says.
Meanwhile, New York Police Department investigators continue to build a homicide case against Mangione, who is being held in Pennsylvania on charges stemming from his arrest there, including unlawful possession. ghost gun and fraudulent identification. Mangion has pleaded not guilty to the charges in Pennsylvania.
On Wednesday, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said three shell casings recovered at the scene of Thompson’s shooting matched the gun found in Mangione’s possession when he was arrested. He also confirmed that Mangione’s fingerprints were taken from a water bottle found near the crime scene and from the wrapper of a granola bar.
