Alarming “wanted” posters of top health care officials popping up across New York City prompted police to issue a bulletin warning leaders of the growing threats.
In the aftermath of the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, video shared on social media displayed “wanted” signs featuring other healthcare company leaders at traffic checkpoints in Manhattan.
The signs featured photos of Thompson, OptumHealth CEO Heather Cianfrocco and UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty. It is unclear who put up the posters.
The threatening posters were placed on Canal Street – one of Manhattan’s busiest thoroughfares – flanked by the red and black words: “Wanted.” Denying medical care for corporate profits. Healthcare CEOs should not feel safe.”
The signs also included the phrase that suspected shooter Luigi Mangione had written on the bullets found at the crime scene: “Denial. Defend. To take off.’
The alliterative trio of words refers to a book by Jay Feinman titled “Delay, Defend, Deny: Why Insurance Company Don’t Pay Claims, and What You Can Do About It.”
A New York Police Department bulletin issued Tuesday highlighted the increased risk to health care executives after Thompson’s killing. ABC News.
“Both before and after the identification and arrest of the suspected perpetrator, some online users on social media platforms responded positively to the killing, encouraging future attacks on similar executives and sharing conspiracy theories about the shooting,” the bulletin said.
In the aftermath of the murder of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, a video shared on social media showed “wanted” signs with other healthcare company leaders in New York City
The signs featured photos of Thompson, OptumHealth CEO Heather Cianfrocco and UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty
The bulletin highlighted social media posts sharing information about the other executives — and the NYPD said threatening users posted “that it’s a hit list and CEOs should be afraid.”
Health insurers began removing images of their leadership teams from their websites after Thompson’s murder.
Mangione, 26, appeared in court Tuesday and fought extradition to New York, where he faces manslaughter charges after Thompson was killed.
The former Ivy League student was arrested Monday at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, when he was found with a 3D-printed gun and a black silencer, as well as a manifesto condemning the U.S. health care system.
Authorities have said Mangione’s three-page manifesto is currently under investigation and have called it a “claim of responsibility.”
He wrote about the grandiose size of UnitedHealthcare and how much profit it makes, and then condemned health insurers more broadly for putting profit before care.
‘To spare you a lengthy investigation, I clearly state that I have not collaborated with anyone. This was fairly trivial: some basic social engineering, basic CAD, [and] a lot of patience,” Mangione is said to have written in the manifesto, according to the Daily Beast.
He went on to say he had “respect” for federal investigators and apologized for causing any “trauma” but appeared to defend his alleged actions.
The orange jumpsuit-clad suspect had to be restrained as he shouted at police as he headed to court in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed outside a Manhattan hotel on December 4
Luigi Mangione, 26, was arrested in Pennsylvania and found with a manifesto condemning the US healthcare system
“To be honest, these parasites already expected it,” the manifesto wrote.
It claimed that the United States had the “world’s most expensive health care system” but criticized the system for only ranking America 42nd in life expectancy.
Thomas Dickey, Mangione’s attorney, said Tuesday night that his client will also plead not guilty to the gun possession charges he faces in Pennsylvania.
He appeared in court after being charged with murder on Tuesday. He pouted as he was escorted from the hearing after suffering a major public meltdown hours earlier.
The orange jumpsuit-clad suspect had to be restrained as he shouted at police as he headed to court in Altoona, Pennsylvania.