In early December, the CEO of United Health Insurance was gunned down in the street.
As we wrote at the time, public opinion was overwhelmingly in favor of the gunman, Luigi Mangione, because the insurance company, and the private insurance industry in the United States, were all about profit.
For a moment, he was something of a“Dark hero”.
So although Luigi has been in prison for a long time, there have been persistent calls for his release.
As soon as Luigi was extradited to New York on December 19th, for example, crowds gathered outside the courthouse to demand his release.
It’s not that they didn’t know Luigi was guilty of murder, it’s just that they thought, “This is the only way.”.
“People feel that the authorities haven’t listened to them for years. So you see, I don’t want to debate whether or not his murder was justified, I’m just saying that this violent system has violent consequences that are predictable.”
Others were more direct, with one bearded brother telling media cameras:
“What’s the difference between a systematic murder [ of insurance companies ] and a shooting? Luigi did a good thing, he killed a serial killer because the CEO was a serial killer.”
“Other than that, there’s no legal way to stop the insurance companies, no politicians are willing to stand up because they have the lobbyists and everything, and they have the money to get the courts on their side. So [ killing ] is the only way to stop the serial killer.”
By the 23rd, Luigi entered Manhattan Court arraignment proceedings, he pleaded not guilty.
Crowds gathered outside the courthouse in freezing New York temperatures in the low teens to show support for Luigi:
“Eat the rich!”
“Hey, Hey, HO, Ho! These ceos have to go!”
“Release! Release Luigi!”
The man on the left below, holding a white sign, calls himself Nicholas Zamudio, 33.
“Medicare stole my livelihood,” the sign said. “It’s the profiteers who should be prosecuted.”.
According to him, when he was electrocuted in 2021 and Medicare refused to pay, he spent more than $100,000 out of his own pocket:
“I don’t have insurance. My 401(K) has run out. I’ve run out of assets. By next January, I’ll have to stay with friends so I don’t end up on the streets. I’ve lost everything, so I’m here today.”
After the arraignment, Luigi pleaded not guilty and entered into legal proceedings.
As we discussed earlier, Luigi has been charged with 11 counts of felony, including stalking, murder, and terrorism, and faces life in prison or the death penalty if he loses.
For this case, he hired the Best Lawyers in , Mr. and Mrs. Agnifilo, to defend him.
It’s expensive to be a star lawyer, but Luigi doesn’t have to worry about that now.
More than 11,000 supporters from around the world have given him more than $320,000…
Since the Luigi Affair began, supporters have volunteered to form a foundation to raise money for Luigi. The foundation launched on December 9 last year, since then, donations have been made, did not expect just two months, the amount of donations reached more than 300,000…
Many donors anonymously wrote on crowdfunding websites:
“I believe in fairness, I believe in the truth, and Luigi deserves a fair trial. Health care is terrible for us today.”
“Stay Strong, my Superman! We’re all behind you. Keep fighting, Standing Tall, Luigi! We love you!”
“Don’t let them break your spirit, Luigi! We’re here for you!”
As you can see, these are all in the last half hour, which means that donations are still pouring in and growing.
The foundation issued a statement on the 10th, saying it had contacted lawyers Agnifilo and his wife, who will receive the money. Luigi, speaking through a lawyer, said:
“Luigi knows about the foundation and he is very grateful for their support. He plans to use the money to fight the case against him.”
Despite Luigi’s many supporters, there are those, such as Ted Williams, a former police detective and criminal-trial lawyer, who consider it“Pathological” to cheer on murderers. He commented on the Fox News Channel:
“It’s shocking that someone would raise money for a cold-blooded killer who killed in broad daylight. There are so many causes in this country that need money.”
“He comes from a very wealthy family, by the way. Raising money for him is like applauding a murder.”
Whatever his position, Luigi is right when he says that he comes from a wealthy family and probably doesn’t need $300,000.
But Luigi’s supporters aren’t just donating money; they’re also supporting it in a way that a murder case couldn’t. To discuss the case while ignoring the deeper issues of the private health care industry and the distribution of wealth in the United States is, to this day, to avoid the issue altogether.
So whether Luigi gets away with it or not, his original goal of drawing attention to the private health care industry has been achieved.
Luigi is due to appear in court on February 21st, with another wave of protests and news reports expected and donations expected to reach new highs. … The foundation set a target of $300,000. Now it has raised it to $500,000.
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Finally, a rumor by the way.
There was a screenshot circulating on Twitter a while back of what appeared to be a CNBC article titled“Luigi Mangione found dead in jail”… .
The image is photoshopped and the website is fake.
The blogger followed up with a news link in the comments at cnbcnews.us.
It may look like it, but CNBC doesn’t have“News” on its website. It’s“. com,” not“. us.”.
A follow-up media search of cnbcnews.us, a fake domain name, found that it had been registered in December last year. . . .
CNBC has been around since 1989, and the site was launched last year, so there’s no question it’s a fake.
This so-called“Luigi Death” news in the domestic platform also seems to have a small range of spread, we pay attention to screening it. We’ll keep talking until we hear more about the Luigi case