Luigi Mangione: Death penalty decision for assassin of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson gets backlash

The backlash comes after US Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced on Tuesday (April 1) that federal prosecutors would pursue the death penalty against Mangione.

In a statement, she said: “Luigi Mangione's murder of Brian Thompson — an innocent man and father of two young children — was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America. After careful consideration, I have directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case as we carry out President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and make America safe again.”

But social media has come out in droves to defend the 26-year-old. One wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “It’s a scare tactic. They’re pushing this to make an example out of him. They want us supporters and him being scared — they want us and him to crash out. It’s gonna backfire in their face in the end.”

Others criticised what they see as a selective application of justice. “So a cop can kill innocent people and just gets off with it, and then we have to hear how hard it is on their mental health — but someone kills a CEO who is ripping people off and they give him the death penalty. Joke of a country,” another user posted. Others echoed the sentiment, calling the punishment excessive: “Isn’t the whole point of justice to be fair and just? The death penalty doesn’t seem to fit.”

One post accused the government of using Mangione to reinforce the status quo: “They’re violating his rights because they want to maintain capitalism.”

Mangione was arrested in December 2024, five days after allegedly gunning down Thompson outside a New York City hotel. Authorities say he was found in Altoona, Pennsylvania, in possession of a 3D-printed firearm and a handwritten manifesto targeting the US healthcare industry.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Mangione was largely unknown to the public until his arrest, but his sharp features, clean-cut appearance, and brooding eyes quickly became part of the media narrative. Dubbed by some online users as having a “model face with a manifesto mind,” his unexpected blend of preppy looks and radical action fuelled the viral obsession.

Following his arrest, photos of Mangione, handcuffed but expressionless, circulated widely on social media. His physical appearance clashed with public expectations of what a political assassin might look like, leading some to call him “the face of disillusioned America.”