Luigi Mangione has been indicted by a New York grand jury for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in early December.
The jury voted to charge Mr. Mangione with one count of first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism and two counts of second-degree murder, one count of which is charged as killing as an act of terrorism, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Dec. 17.
"This was a frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock, attention, and intimidation," Mr. Bragg said.
Mr. Mangione has been in custody at a Pennsylvania state prison since his Dec. 9 arrest by local authorities. He fatally shot Mr. Thompson on Dec. 4 outside of the New York Hilton Midtown, where UnitedHealth Group was hosting its annual investor day conference.
Upon arrest, officers recovered a handwritten manifesto regarding Mr. Mangione's motivation and mindset, where he expressed contempt toward corporate America and the healthcare industry. The words "deny," "defend," and "depose" were also written on shell casings found at the crime scene.
Mr. Mangione is scheduled to appear in Pennsylvania court on the morning of Dec. 19 for firearm and forgery charges related to the murder. An extradition hearing is scheduled immediately after that, which may be waived by the defendant.
The murder has sparked a firestorm of online vitriol and hostility toward insurers more broadly, and many have taken to social media to share their experiences with delayed and denied care by UnitedHealthcare and other insurers.
"In the nearly two weeks since Mr. Thompson's killing, we have seen a shocking and appalling celebration of cold blooded murder," NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a Dec. 17 press conference. "Social media has erupted with praise for this cowardly attack. People ghoulishly plastered posters threatening other CEOs, with an X over Mr. Thompson's picture as though he was some sort of sick trophy."
"These are the threats of a violent, lawless mob who would trade in their own vigilantism for the rule of law that protects us all," she said. "There is no heroism in what Mangione did."
On Dec. 10, a Florida woman was arrested and charged after telling a Blue Cross Blue Shield employee over the phone, "Delay, deny, depose. You people are next," in response to a denied claim, ABC News reported.
One federal lawmaker described the murder as unjustified but not surprising, and some insurance CEOs have publicly expressed similar sentiments.
AHIP, the trade association representing health insurers, wrote on LinkedIn on Dec. 12: "Those in positions of leadership must condemn violence without qualification or equivocation. Anything short of that is not only irresponsible — it's dangerous."
Since the fatal shooting, insurers have tightened security around their executives, canceling conferences or moving them to virtual formats, temporarily closing offices, and removing biographical information online.
UnitedHealth Group employees have been "barraged by threats" in the days since the attack, CEO Andrew Witty wrote in a Dec. 13 op-ed published in The New York Times, where he also expressed sympathy with the public's frustrations over the healthcare system.
"No employees — be they the people who answer customer calls or nurses who visit patients in their homes — should have to fear for their and their loved ones' safety," he wrote."We know the health system does not work as well as it should, and we understand people's frustrations with it. Healthcare is both intensely personal and very complicated, and the reasons behind coverage decisions are not well understood. We share some of the responsibility for that."
Mr. Thompson, 50, was named CEO of UnitedHealthcare in April 2021. He first joined Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth Group in 2004 and held numerous leadership positions across the company. Before UnitedHealth, he held management roles at PwC in Minnesota. He graduated with a bachelor's of business administration and accounting from the University of Iowa in 1997.
Mr. Thompson was "never content with the status quo," Mr. Witty wrote, and was dedicated to improving healthcare.
"The ideas he advocated were aimed at making healthcare more affordable, more transparent, more intuitive, more compassionate — and more human," he wrote. "That's Brian's legacy, one that we will carry forward by continuing our work to make the health system work better for everyone."