Health boss ‘assassin’ is flooded support and gofundme pages as fans praise him for ‘sacrificing himself for society’

Fans of the alleged killer of the UnitedHealthcare CEO have been desperately trying to raise money for his legal defense as they flooded the internet with an outpouring of support.

Luigi Mangione, 26, is an “anti-capitalist” Ivy League graduate was taken into custody after a McDonald’s employee in Altoona, about 100 miles east of Pittsburgh, thought they recognized him as the gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in the middle of New York City on December 4.

Mangione has been arrested in Pennsylvania on gun charges. As of Monday evening, he was officially charged with murder in New York.

Since he was formally charged, his legions of fans have been trying to raise money for his defense against the charges.

Several short-lived campaigns appeared on GoFundMe that were quickly removed by the donation site.

One-page description entitled “Legal Defense for Defendant in UnitedHealthCare.” [sic] Death of CEO’ read: ‘Raising legal funds for the suspect accused of killing the CEO of UnitedHealthCare, who announced he would deny payment for anesthesia during surgeries that took a long time or involved complications.

‘This is a very emotionally and politically charged issue. Everyone deserves a fair trial and competent legal representation.”

Another read: “Luigi risked everything to stand up to companies that are destroying American lives.

“It is our duty to support this man so that his story can be told and why it matters to us and our families. We are the people for the people!’

GoFundMe’s terms and conditions clearly state that pages that raise money for “the legal defense of financial and violent crimes, including crimes related to money laundering, murder, theft, sexual assault, abuse, sexual crimes, or crimes against minors.” are not allowed.

But other fundraising sites have continued campaigns in support of Mangione.

There are at least two GiveSendGo pages that have collectively raised nearly $8,000 for Mangione’s defense.

The one-page description read: “Funds are being raised to pay for Mr. Mangione’s legal fees incurred from the criminal charges filed and any future civil lawsuits that may arise, as well as costs associated with his defense. All contributions are greatly appreciated.

“All proceeds collected, in excess of what is necessary to cover Mr. Mangione’s legal defense, will be donated to an appropriate charity to be determined at a later date.”

The description on the other page read: “This is a pre-emptive legal fundraiser for the suspect allegedly involved in the shooting of the CEO of United Healthcare. We are not here to celebrate violence, but we do believe in the constitutional right to fair legal representation. Please share in your networks!

Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old born and raised in Maryland, was arrested on December 9 as a suspect in this case. Efforts are being made to contact him and his lawyers. All proceeds will be sent directly to Luigi or, if he chooses to decline the funds, they will instead be donated to legal funds for other American political prisoners.”

It comes amid a wave of support for Mangione. While some have supported his alleged murder of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, many simply long for the Ivy League-educated killer.

One message to X read: ‘He took action against private health insurers, that’s what he did. He was a brave Italian martyr. In this house Luigi Mangione is a hero, end of story!’

Another read: “Luigi Mangione’s lawyer should take the entire health insurance industry to task and argue that Mangione was defending the public from a predatory CEO who profited from killing people and bankrupting them.”

A third simply said: “Luigi Mangione is an Italian Ivy League student [a] huge bookworm, loves reading comics and Pokémon also lifts weights.

“That man was literally handmade for me and they just put him behind bars.”

Luigi Mangione was apparently shocked when McDonald’s employees recognized him after five days on the run.

Sources told DailyMail.com that several staff members spotted the masked man, who was quietly reading after ordering a drink from the fast food restaurant.

One employee then called authorities after a customer also quietly told them he looked like the man authorities had been hunting for almost a week.

When police arrived, they found the suspect wearing a medical mask and looking at a silver laptop, with his backpack on the floor next to the table, according to charging documents.

As soon as he pulled down the mask, new Altoona police officer Tyler Frye said he and his partner immediately recognized him as the suspect accused of shooting Thompson on Dec. 4.

‘We just didn’t think about it much. We knew it was our guy,” Frye told reporters at a news conference Monday night.

Police say Mangione officers a New Jersey driver’s license with the name Mark Rosario and date of birth July 21, 1998.

When an officer then asked him if he had been to New York recently, “he started shaking,” charging documents say.

‘He became visibly nervous and trembled a little at that question. And he didn’t really answer right away,” said Altoona Police Chief Derek Swope.

‘The suspect did not have to say much after that question, which shows that he was very nervous about it [the officers].’

But police on the scene quickly realized the New Jersey driver’s license was fake, prompting an officer to tell him he was under official police investigation and that if he lied about his identity, he would be arrested.

When Mangione heard this, he allegedly provided officers with his true identity.

When subsequently asked why he lied about his name, the suspect allegedly replied, “I clearly shouldn’t have done that.”

Ultimately, Frye said, Mangione was “very cooperative with us” and “didn’t give us too many problems.”

“Once we discovered his identity, we took it from there,” said the rookie, who has only been on the force six months.

Mangione ultimately calmly and quietly interacted with officers outside the McDonald’s, and staff members said their workday was minimally disrupted.

“We all just want to know why and how he ended up in our town because it doesn’t make any sense,” an employee told DailyMail.com.

“Not many visitors come here, it’s not a big city.”