Luigi Mangione, the 27-year-old accused in the brazen shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, had allegedly hardened his resolve to make a statement about American health care by August 15 of last year.
On that date, he allegedly wrote in a red notebook, “I finally feel confident about what I will do. The details are coming together. And I don’t feel any doubt about whether it’s right/justified.”
“I’m glad — in a way — that I’ve procrastinated bc it allowed me to learn more about UHC.”
Prosecutors included select handwritten pages of a journal used by Mangione in a new 82-page filing on Wednesday that sheds new light on the thought he put into the alleged crime, including analysis of how it would be perceived by the public.
Mangione appears to have also considered a different target — someone with the initials “KMD” — before deciding against it.
“KMD would’ve been an unjustified catastrophe that would be perceived mostly as sick, but more importantly unhelpful. Would do nothing to spread awareness/improve people’s lives,” Mangione allegedly wrote. “The target is insurance. It checks every box.”
On Oct. 22, around one-and-a-half months before Thompson’s death, Mangione allegedly wrote that “the problem with most revolutionary acts is that the message is lost on normies.”
“For example, Ted K makes some good points on the future of humanity, but to make his point he indiscriminately mailbombs innocents,” Mangione allegedly wrote, referencing the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski. Mangione previously left a Goodreads review on Kaczynski’s book, “Industrial Society and Its Future,” saying it was “impossible to ignore how prescient many of his predictions about modern society turned out.”
The journal entry went on: “Normies categorize him as an insane serial killer, focus on the act/atrocities themselves, and dismiss his ideas. And most importantly — by committing indiscriminate atrocities he becomes a monster, which makes his ideas those of a monster, no matter how true. He crosses the line from revolutionary anarchist to terrorist — the worst thing a person can be.”
“This is the problem with most militants that rebel against — often real — injustices: they commit an atrocity whose horror either outweighs the impact of their message, or whose distance from their message prevents normies from connecting the dots,” the entry said. “Consequently, the revolutionary idea becomes associated with extremism, incoherence or evil — an idea that no reasonable member of society could approve of. Rather than win public support, they lose it. The revolutionary actions are actively counter-productive.”
Mangione, who allegedly called himself a “revolutionary anarchist” in the notebook, has inspired support across the country from Americans frustrated with morbidly expensive U.S. health care.
The court filing reveals that Mangione appears to have crossed paths with Thompson the day before the shooting, as he seemed to talk on his cell phone while walking down a Manhattan street by Thompson’s hotel.
Mangione allegedly spent approximately 23 minutes lying in wait outside the hotel on Dec. 4 before spotting Thompson. A figure dressed in black with a backpack is seen in security footage swiftly approaching the CEO from behind and firing several quick shots before fleeing the scene.
A massive manhunt ended five days later when Mangione was spotted at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The notebook was among the items he allegedly had with him at the time of his arrest.
Prosecutors spent part of the filing arguing for a terrorism enhancement if or when Mangione is sentenced, saying Thompson’s murder was engineered to strike fear in those who profit greatly from U.S. health care.
They gave examples of the impact: some UnitedHealthcare employees apparently quit out of fear of retaliation, many received security details, and one executive dyed her hair and moved due to threats. Some UHC employees were afraid to send out letters denying coverage, successfully petitioning the company to allow them to keep their names off the letters, despite certain state laws that require them to do so.
They also dismissed the suggestion outlined in the notebook that narrowing the scope of violence to one symbolic person was morally correct.
“You don’t get a trophy or any kind of absolution under New York’s anti-terrorism law because you only killed one innocent person and not others,” prosecutors said.
