When 26-year-old Luigi Mangione allegedly murdered UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel in December, he was met with an outpouring of public support. While Republicans and political centrists condemned those backing him, young people overwhelmingly sided with him. A Generation Lab poll of 1,026 college students found that 81 per cent had an extremely or somewhat negative view of Thompson, the victim.

In recent years, healthcare affordability has been one of the top concerns for voters, with more than half of US adults reporting difficulty affording medical costs. One in four say they or a family member have struggled to pay for healthcare in the past year. After Thompson’s murder, social media was flooded with stories of Americans frustrated with UnitedHealthcare, accusing the corporation of prioritising profit over lives by denying medical claims and leaving patients burdened with debt.

While the mainstream media, the police and the establishment would like Mangione to be forgotten, support for him has not wavered. He remains incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn without bond, awaiting trial. Yesterday (February 10), it was announced that he had accepted nearly $300,000 in donations towards his legal defence. Mangione faces charges in New York, Pennsylvania and federal court. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges in New York and has yet to enter pleas elsewhere.

The December 4 Legal Committee, which launched a GiveSendGo fundraiser for Mangione, stated: “We’re thrilled that Luigi is accepting these funds so he can mount the strongest defence possible. The American private health insurance industry has ruined countless lives by denying people access to basic care and burying families in medical debt. It’s no surprise that Luigi’s alleged actions are understood and supported by tens of millions of hard-working Americans.” Reports have also emerged that Mangione has been sharing his commissary funds with fellow inmates.

Mangione is due to appear in New York state court on February 21, where he faces 11 charges, including first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism, second-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism and multiple weapons offences. At a federal level, he has been charged with murder through the use of a firearm, two counts of stalking and one firearm offence. If convicted, the firearm-related murder charge carries the possibility of the death penalty, following an executive order issued by President Trump, which requires the death penalty to be used wherever possible.

The police and the US government appear determined to make an example of Mangione, using his case to reassert the status quo, a system that continues to profit from the suffering of sick and dying Americans, one in which people accept being exploited but rarely fight back. Whether or not one agrees with his alleged action, Mangione has made it clear that this is a system that should no longer be tolerated.