The Case of Luigi Mangione: A Chronological Narrative
- Cassian Creed
- 7 days ago
- 7 min read
1. Introduction: The CEO, Luigi Mangione and The Shooting
On the morning of December 4, 2024, Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was in New York City for an annual investors' meeting. As he stood on the sidewalk outside the New York Hilton Midtown hotel, a masked gunman approached from behind, raised a weapon, and fired. The attack was swift, targeted, and shockingly public.
The brazen, daylight assassination of a corporate executive in the heart of Manhattan sent a shockwave across the nation, igniting a story that was part manhunt, part ideological referendum. The killing was not a random act of violence; it was a cold-blooded statement. As authorities launched a nationwide search for the gunman, the case of Luigi Mangione began to unfold, polarizing public opinion and charting a course through a labyrinth of American law.
2. The Crime Scene: Clues Left Behind
According to the official timeline released by the Manhattan District Attorney's office, the attack unfolded with calculated precision:
At 5:34 a.m., the suspect, later identified as Luigi Mangione, departed a Manhattan hostel on an e-bike.
Between 5:52 a.m. and 6:45 a.m., he was observed walking around the Hilton Hotel, waiting.
At 6:45 a.m., he crossed the street, approached Thompson from behind, and shot him once in the back and once in the leg with a 3D-printed ghost gun equipped with a silencer.
The gunman then fled the scene, first on the e-bike and subsequently in a taxi.
Brian Thompson was rushed to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:12 a.m.
Back at the crime scene, investigators found a message scrawled across the evidence: the word "DELAY" was written on a bullet found at the scene, while the words "DENY" and "DEPOSE" were found on two discharged shell casings. The terms, echoing common criticisms of insurance industry tactics, transformed the crime from a simple homicide into a public statement and became the catalyst for an intensive, nationwide investigation.
3. The Manhunt and the Arrest
A five-day nationwide manhunt for the masked shooter ensued, culminating on December 9, 2024. An employee at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, recognized a customer from police images and alerted the authorities. The man they arrested was Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old with an Ivy League education and no prior criminal record.
Key Items Recovered at Arrest
A 3D-printed gun and suppressor: Police reported that these were similar to the weapons used in the attack on Brian Thompson.
A fake New Jersey driver's license: The license bore the name "Mark Rosario," the same alias used to check into the Manhattan hostel where the shooter had stayed.
A 262-word handwritten document: Addressed "To the Feds," the note was described by police as an explanation of the author's motivation and mindset.
The arrest of a seemingly privileged and intellectually gifted young man with a clean record immediately raised the question that would come to define the case: what could have possibly motivated such a violent and public act?
4. The "Manifesto": A Stated Motive
The 262-word handwritten document found on Mangione provided an immediate, if jarring, answer to the question of motive. Widely characterized as a "manifesto," the note laid out a clear ideological justification for the killing.
To the Feds, I'll keep this short, because I do respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn't working with anyone. This was fairly trivial: some elementary social engineering, basic CAD, a lot of patience. The spiral notebook, if present, has some straggling notes and To Do [ sic ] lists that illuminate the gist of it. My tech is pretty locked down because I work in engineering so probably not much info there. I do apologize for any strife of [ sic? ] traumas but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming. A reminder: the US has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy. United is the [indecipherable] largest company in the US by market cap, behind only Apple, Google, Walmart. It has grown and grown, but as [ sic ] our life expectancy? No the reality is, these [indecipherable] have simply gotten too powerful, and they continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has allwed [ sic ] them to get away with it. Obviously the problem is more complex, but I do not have space, and frankly I do not pretend to be the most qualified person to lay out the full argument. But many have illuminated the corruption and greed (e.g.: Rosenthal , Moore), decades ago and the problems simply remain. It is not an issue of awareness at this point, but clearly power games at play. Evidently I am the first to face it with such brutal honesty.
Notably, the official federal complaint included a postscript not present in the widely circulated transcription: "P.S. you can check serial numbers to verify this is all self-funded. My own ATM withdrawals."
In the note, the author claims sole responsibility for the act, framing it as "fairly trivial" to execute. The core argument is a scathing critique of the American healthcare system, citing its high cost relative to the nation's poor life expectancy ranking. The author concludes that the system's problems are not a matter of awareness but of "power games," suggesting a violent act was necessary to confront the issue. This document immediately framed the shooting as a political act, setting the stage for the intense legal and public debates that would follow.
5. The Legal Maze: Dual Prosecutions
Luigi Mangione faces an unusually complex legal battle, with charges filed in three jurisdictions: Pennsylvania, New York State, and the U.S. Federal Government. He is being prosecuted for the killing of Brian Thompson by both state and federal authorities simultaneously. This is permissible under the "dual sovereignty" doctrine, which holds that state and federal governments are separate entities and can therefore prosecute for the same act without violating double jeopardy protections. Mangione's defense team immediately challenged this, arguing the parallel prosecutions constituted double jeopardy, but the judge swiftly rejected the motion, cementing the two-front legal war Mangione would have to fight.
The establishment of these parallel prosecutions created a high-stakes legal environment, and the first major development came as a significant turn in the state's case.
6. A Turning Point: State Terrorism Charges Dismissed
The state's high-profile case against Mangione took a dramatic turn on September 16, 2025. In a stunning victory for the defense, New York Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro gutted the prosecution's central argument by dismissing the two most serious charges: first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism and second-degree murder as a crime of terrorism.
In his written decision, the judge ruled that the evidence was "legally insufficient" to meet the state's strict definition of terrorism. He found that prosecutors had failed to prove Mangione's act was intended to "intimidate or coerce a civilian population," a necessary component of the statute.
While the ruling was a significant blow to the state's case, Mangione still faces the charge of second-degree (intentional) murder. But while the state prosecution reeled from the loss of its most powerful charges, the victory offered Mangione only a brief reprieve. The federal case, unencumbered by the ruling and armed with a capital charge, now loomed larger than ever.
7. The Court of Public Opinion: Folk Hero or Killer?
The reaction to Luigi Mangione's arrest was deeply polarizing. In the eyes of some, his alleged act transformed him from a murder suspect into a "folk hero" and a "modern-day Robin Hood." This groundswell of support, largely driven by widespread frustration with the U.S. health insurance industry, manifested in several ways:
The hashtag #FreeLuigi trended on social media platforms.
Merchandise with slogans like "FREE LUIGI" was created and sold online.
A legal defense fund on the platform GiveSendGo raised over $1 million.
Public displays of support, including street art and graffiti, appeared in cities around the world.
However, this vocal support did not represent a universal view. Polling revealed a divided, though largely negative, public perception. A December 2024 Economist/YouGov poll found that 43% of American adults held an unfavorable view of Mangione, while a separate poll by the Center for Strategic Politics found that 61% had a negative perception. Support was significantly higher among younger and more liberal Americans, but a majority did not condone his alleged actions.
In his first public statement from jail, released in February 2025, Mangione acknowledged this support, stating he was grateful and that "the support has transcended political, racial, and even class divisions." The stark contrast between his supporters' view of him as a vigilante for justice and his opponents' view of him as a cold-blooded killer has become a central theme of the case.
8. Conclusion: The Story So Far
As of today, the case of Luigi Mangione remains unresolved. He has pleaded "not guilty" to all charges against him. In New York, he continues to face a second-degree murder charge, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Simultaneously, he faces four federal charges, including a capital murder charge for which prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. The legal proceedings are ongoing, and the final chapter in the story of the Ivy League graduate accused of assassinating a CEO has yet to be written.
Comments