CEO ‘killer’ Luigi Mangione’s fellow inmates shout sick chants from prison as they complain about his cell ‘conditions’
INMATES in jail with the alleged CEO assassin have been heard shouting "Free Luigi" in the latest disturbing show of support for the suspect.
The prisoners interrupted a TV interview with their chants, which could be heard live on air from the State Correctional Institution in Huntington, Pennsylvania, where Luigi Mangione is being held.
Mangione, 26, was arrested on Monday for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson after a five-day manhunt.
On Wednesday, as NewsNation reporter Alex Caprariello was reporting from outside the jail, inmates could be heard screaming at him from inside.
One was heard yelling, "Luigi's conditions suck," while another shouted, "Free Luigi."
Caprariello returned to the jail at 10 pm for host Ashleigh Banfield, who asked the inmates questions from her newsdesk.
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Asked if Mangione had a TV in his cell, prisoners screamed "no" and flickered their lights to signal the answers to questions.
Banfield also read the prison's menu for the day and asked inmates if the food was good.
A chorus of prisoners responded, screaming that it was "terrible" and "BS."
"This is the strangest interview I've ever conducted," Banfield admitted.
Authorities have repeatedly shot down claims that Ivy League graduate Mangione is a "hero" after disturbed supporters praised Thompson's heinous assassination.
It first became clear that he would become a divisive figure when cops launched a five-day manhunt and some members of the public took to social media to say they would not help in the search.
He's now been flooded with offers to pay his legal bills.
And in recent days, a slew of 'wanted' posters have been plastered on the streets of New York featuring the names and faces of other health insurance CEOs, sparking copycat attack fears.
The gross posters say the execs are wanted for "denying medical care for corporate profit."
They state, "When the rich rob the poor it's called business. When the poor fight back it's called violence."
What we know so far...
- Luigi Mangione's attorney said his office has been flooded with offers to pay the suspect's legal bills.
- Warped fans have spread sinister ‘Wanted’ posters of insurance CEOs amid a sick swell of support for the ‘assassin.’
- A spiral notebook recovered from the inside of Mangione's backpack detailed his sick "to-do list," including plans to use a bomb to kill Brian Thompson, according to reports.
- Months before the December 4 assassination, Mangione stopped speaking to his friends and family.
- Friends of Mangione said he 'went crazy' after having giant screws put in his spine.
- Mangione's mother, Kathleen, reported her son missing in San Francisco on November 18.
- The McDonald's worker who reported Mangione to the police may lose out on the $60,000 reward after committing a critical error.
When investigators searched the murder scene on December 4, they found three bullet casings with the words "Deny" "Defend," and "Depose" etched into them.
The phrase has been reprinted on the posters and the sick motto is thought to be a message about the healthcare industry.
The words are similar to a 2010 book, Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claim and What You Can Do About It, written by insurance law expert and Rutgers Law School professor Jay M. Feinman.
In the days since Thompson's death, executives in the health insurance industry have reported being threatened and harassed.
Law enforcement officers have faced similar behavior following the suspect's arrest on Monday.
"They don’t want to become the focal point. No CEO wants to be at the center of this debate, because they feel it makes them a target," she said.
But, it is not just posters that Mangione's support group have started making and putting up.
Who is Luigi Mangione?
MANGIONE, 26, was regarded as a beloved, clever and wealthy man by his family, friends and all who knew him.
He was born and raised in Maryland, where he was valedictorian of his high school graduating class at Gilman School in Baltimore.
He had no prior criminal history and was said to have been a model student, soccer player, and all-round athlete at high school.
One former student from the Gilman School told The U.S. Sun Mangione was "popular" and had a ";big circle of friends."
"We went to the same school but didn't really have the same friends. I'm really shocked by this whole thing," the former student, who asked not to be identified, said.
";I think he played soccer, it was an all-boys school, so being a good athlete got you social currency for sure."
After, Mangione graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied computer and information science, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He also got his masters from the Ivy League school.
Mangione was reportedly a data engineer at a car company in California before moving to Hawaii.
His cousin is also Republican Maryland House of Delegates member Nino Mangione.
Websites are selling disgusting merchandise celebrating the assassination of the father-of-two including hats with "CEO Hunter" written on them with a bullseye.
Since the suspect's arrest, over a thousand donations have poured in on an online fundraiser to help Mangione's legal defense with him becoming something like a folk hero.
One person has even had a tattoo based on the security camera image released by the NYPD from the attack.
Social media comments have also gushed about his good looks while donors have written on the GiveSendGo fundraiser that it was a "justifiable homicide"
"Denying healthcare coverage to people is murder, but no one gets charged with that crime," one wrote.
Former NYPD detective sergeant Felipe Rodriguez has slammed the glorification of Mangione and his horrific crime.
"They've made him a martyr for all the troubles people have had with their own insurance companies," he said.
"I mean, who hasn't had run-ins with their insurance? But he's a stone-cold killer."
The NYPD's deputy commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism said the killing of Thompson could set off a "contagion."
Rebecca Weiner said the murder ";is already being reflected in this torrent of online vitriol that we’ve been in the midst of since last Wednesday and the lionization of the alleged perpetrator of the murder as a hero."
LAWYER SPEAKS OUT
The Ivy League-educated suspect is currently being held in Pennsylvania as prosecutors in New York hope to secure his extradition.
He was denied bail and his lawyer, Tom Dickey, said he plans to plead not guilty to all charges.
Dickey also slammed New York officials, claiming he has seen "zero evidence" that the wealthy college grad is the shooter.
The alleged assassin was arrested on Monday after he was recognized at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania by a customer who has since been praised by Governor Josh Shapiro as a "hero."
He was searched by officers who found a fake ID, a "ghost gun" similar to the one seen in surveillance footage of the killing, a secret notebook, and a manifesto lambasting the healthcare industry.
On Wednesday, investigators revealed fingerprints on a discarded water bottle found near the scene of the assassination matched those of Mangione.
An examination of Magione's online activity running up to the shooting showed his rants about debilitating irritable bowel syndrome, insomnia, and chronic back pain.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
The health-focused posts on Reddit reveal a man who felt like his life had been stolen from him by his myriad of medical issues.
Mangione's history has come under scrutiny as people look for a motive to explain the shocking slaying caught on CCTV.