Move over, Ted Bundy. There’s a new alleged murderer in town who’s gaining romantic admirers by the thousands and becoming a cultural hero to some: Luigi Mangione.
Mangione is currently facing prosecution for first-degree murder in New York in the December killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Like everyone accused of a crime in the United States, Mangione is innocent until proven guilty, but police and prosecutors have cited what they say are his notebook writings, fingerprints and surveillance footage tying him to the crime. Still, none of this evidence is dissuading Mangione’s legion of fans — on the contrary, many explicitly say they support him because they believe he did kill Thompson.
On social media, particularly TikTok, adoration, praise and romanticization of Mangione continues to go viral.
That was the clear message of the “Free Luigi” rally last week outside of the Manhattan court where he appeared for a procedural hearing, featuring dozens of supporters calling for his release. What’s more, more than 100 women crammed into a 15-floor hallway at the courthouse, The New York Times reports, likely hoping to get just a glimpse of Mangione. A crowdfunding effort organized to support his legal defense has reportedly raised more than $500,000 total, and the alleged killer has received so much fan mail in prison that he had to ask the public to stop sending him more than five photos at a time.
Meanwhile, on social media, particularly TikTok, adoration, praise and romanticization of Mangione continues to go viral. While some of the online discourse may be meant partially tongue-in-cheek, there truly is a meaningful constituency of Americans who support Mangione and believe not that he is innocent, but that his alleged actions — tracking down and murdering a father of two — were justified.
A December 2024 Economist/YouGov poll taken shortly after Thompson’s murder found that 21% of U.S. adult citizens viewed Mangione either very favorably or somewhat favorably, with a 3.5% margin-of-error. That’s a minority, sure, but it’s still roughly 1 in 5 Americans who are supportive of someone known only because of his alleged association with an act of political terrorism, using violence against civilians to convey a political message.
However, the poll’s most alarming finding was that specifically among 18- to 29-year-olds, a plurality of respondents in this category, an astounding 39%, view Mangione positively. Thirty-two percent did not know enough to offer an opinion, and 29% viewed Mangione very unfavorably or somewhat unfavorably.
That’s right: Almost 4 in 10 young American adults view a man accused of murder, who also faces terrorism charges, favorably. (Mangione has pleaded not guilty to all charges in New York state court. He has yet to plead on related federal charges, though his attorneys have indicated he will plead not guilty to those, as well.)
From the adoring fans outside the courtroom to the content creators lusting after Mangione to the young people silently supporting an accused killer, this is no longer a fringe sentiment — it’s a mainstream one, that’s not just morally abhorrent but threatens the fabric of American society.
Of course, many Americans have very legitimate frustrations with health insurance companies and the broken U.S. health care system. But no terrible treatment or legitimate grievance can justify acts of terrorism. After all, if it’s morally acceptable for Mangione to kill someone or if he somehow were legally able to do so just because he believes that person is evil and harming society, well, many Americans feel that way about a whole lot of people. That’s the path to social anarchy.
Some of the social media thirsting for an alleged killer is darkly ironic, but it’s still gross and serves to prop up Mangione as a righteous outlaw.
Many pro-life Americans feel abortion is murder, and thus, the CEO of Planned Parenthood would be complicit in those perceived crimes. Many Republicans feel that way about Democratic leaders like Kamala Harris. These young people who support Mangione’s alleged actions don’t seem to realize how quickly their perverse logic, if widely embraced by society, could be used to justify despicable acts of violence against the very people they support — or how short this path is toward widespread political violence or even civil war.
And all for what, exactly?
UnitedHealthcare has named a new CEO. The system remains unreformed. If anything, many Americans now likely view insurance executives somewhat more sympathetically after hearing about such a horrific targeted murder.
Yes, some of the social media thirsting for an alleged killer is darkly ironic, but even taking the most generous interpretation, it’s still gross and serves to prop up Mangione as a righteous outlaw. But there are true believers in the cult of Luigi Mangione — and they have accomplished absolutely nothing for their cause. All they’ve done is encourage future acts of political terrorism, glorify an accused murderer, further erode the norms that keep our civilization from descending into chaos, and leave behind digital footprints that will haunt them for the rest of their lives. It’s not funny — it’s societal vandalism.