Luigi Mangione, formally charged with terrorism in the death of UnitedHealth CEO

The prosecutor Alvin Bragg He stressed at a press conference that the crime was “a planned and directed murderwith the intention of causing terror, intimidation and public shock. The attack occurred shortly before seven in the morning, in one of the busiest areas of New York, while an investor conference organized by the insurance company was taking place.

Mangione He was arrested days later in Pennsylvaniawhere he was found with a gun, fake IDs, and a manuscript in which he called American insurers “parasites” and railed against corporate greed. Police maintain that the health system may have been the target of his frustration, although Mangione was never a UnitedHealthcare customer.

Of wealthy descent, Mangione is heir to a family fortune and had undergone back surgery this year. There is no evidence that he had difficulty affording his treatment. His family, however, stated that lost contact with him after the intervention and that he had been missing for months.

The case has opened an intense debate in the United States about the health system and has generated concern among executives in the sector. The figure of Mangione has divided public opinion: a survey by the consulting firm Emerson, published this Tuesday, reveals that 41% of those under 29 years of age consider that the murder was justified, compared to 40% who describe it as inexcusable.

Mangione’s image has been used on posters that have appeared in several cities across the country, some with the word “Hero” or references such as “Hope,” while others show Thompson, the victim, with the slogan “Wanted,” as if it were an outlaw.

Mangione’s lawyer is now fighting his extradition to New York, where the accused will plead not guilty. He faces a long trial, with a jury and a possible sentence of life in prison, since the state of New York abolished the death penalty in 2004.