Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has accepted nearly $300,000 in donations from his so-called fans to pay for his criminal defense, his lawyer says.
The December 4 Legal Committee, a group that raised the money and is named after the date in which Thompson was shot and killed in Manhattan, confirmed the transfer on Monday to Mangione’s legal fund.
Luigi Mangione has accepted nearly $300,000 in donations to pay for his defense, his lawyer confirmed. Getty Images“Luigi is aware of the fund and very much appreciates the outpouring of support,” Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Mangione’s attorney, said in a statement, according to the fundraisers.
“My client plans on utilizing it to fight all three of the unprecedented cases against him,” Agnifilo added.
The fundraiser, set up on GiveSendGo, has raised more than $295,000 as of Monday afternoon, with more than 10,000 donors giving to the cause.
“We are thrilled that the money raised by this campaign will go toward building the strongest possible defense against these insulting charges,” the organizers posted on the fundraising site. “We remain committed to a world where our survival and wellbeing are no longer sacrificed for another’s wealth.”
His lawyer says Mangione appreciates the “outpouring of support.” Getty ImagesMangione, who is charged with first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism for killing the father-of-two, has gained a cult-like following over the high-profile case.
Jamie Peck and Sam Beard, of the “Party Girls” podcast who also serve as spokespeople for the fund, said they were thrilled to learn that Mangione was making use of the resources they helped build for him after making contact with his attorney on Monday.
“We are beyond excited to announce that Luigi Mangione has accepted nearly $300,000 that we raised for his legal defense,” Peck said in a YouTube video.
Mangione is accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in an ambush attack in Midtown late last year. LP MEDIABeard said that the fundraiser, which hopes to raise $500,000, would continue through the duration of the trial.
The podcasters claim Thompson’s murder, which they described as an “untimely end,” struck a chord with Americans outraged at the “murderous private health insurance regime.”
An Ivy League graduate from a wealthy Baltimore family, authorities said Mangione planned the murder months in advance over a gripe with the “parasitic” health insurance industry.
Thompson’s murder triggered a five-day nationwide manhunt, with Mangione arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where he stopped at a local McDonald’s after getting off a Greyhound bus that was passing through town.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to both state and federal charges. He could see the death penalty in the federal case.
Additional reporting by Ben Kochman
