The Internet Reacts To Luigi Mangione Being Charged With Terrorism!

Luigi Mangione has been charged with murder over the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month in midtown Manhattan, but it’s what else he is charged with that is really raising eyebrows.

As we’ve covered, the 26-year-old accused killer was indicted on multiple charges on Tuesday including one count of first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism, two counts of second-degree murder, one charge of killing as an act of terrorism, and multiple counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

That’s right — as we reported earlier on Tuesday, the accused has been charged not only with murder, but murder as an act of terrorism. That’s a big distinction, and it was first announced by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (pictured above, inset) during a press conference about the charges on Tuesday.

Related: Luigi Mangione Was A Big Fan Of Michael Moore — But Is The Filmmaker A Big Fan Of His?!

Basically, according to Forbes, amending a first-degree murder charge with an “act of terrorism” designation defines the crime as one that is intended to intimidate or otherwise coerce the population, and/or influence government policy or conduct through the terror of the violent act itself.

During the aforementioned press conference about the charges on Tuesday, NYPD deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism Rebecca Weiner claimed that cops have seen “a sustained increase” of concern from corporations over executive safety since Thompson’s murder. She also asserted that the department has been monitoring a rise in online threats that suggest “the intent to intimidate or coerce the civilian population, which is at the root of our state terrorism statute.” Hence, the terrorism charge.

During the Tuesday press conference, DA Bragg also stepped up to the podium and argued that the murder showed “some ill will toward corporate America,” notably because the killing was committed “in the middle of Midtown” in a very busy area among a tightly-packed population. Bragg added:

“The intent was to sow terror.”

The law is pretty specific on the terrorism charge, FWIW. Per Forbes, New York statutes outline that succeeding in winning a terrorism charge as part of a murder case requires prosecutors to prove that a killing was done “with the intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of unit of government by intimidation or coercion, or affect the conduct of a unit of government by murder, assassination or kidnapping.”

If prosecutors are able to prove that terrorism angle in court, though, Bragg confirmed at the press conference that the maximum possible penalty Mangione would face upon a theoretical conviction for murder in the first degree would be life in prison without the possibility of parole. If he’s convicted of that same charge but only in the second degree, the maximum penalty would be 25 years to life.

Related: WOW! Alleged Gilgo Beach Killer Charged With 7th Murder!

Don’t count on the whole thing being so easy, though. Former federal prosecutor Mitchell Epner spoke to Forbes about the terrorism provision, and he sounded extremely skeptical about the DA’s tactics!

Calling the terrorism charge “performative,” he said that could actually make it harder for prosecutors to convict Mangione. That’s because, according to Epner, the state must go above and beyond to prove that Thompson was killed because Mangione allegedly “didn’t like the way that they [UnitedHealthcare] conducted their business.” Basically, the terrorism push might be flashy in some ways, but it sounds like a whole new prosecutorial threshold in front of a judge and jury.

Epner isn’t the only one calling for skepticism on the terrorism charge, either. Pretty much the whole damn internet is, too!! Over on X (Twitter), thousands of users weighed in about the matter on Tuesday in the hours after Bragg’s office first announced the charges:

“If Luigi had shot anyone but a CEO, the government would not be calling it terrorism.”

“Our government did NOT charge Dylann Roof, a man who mass murdered black people for being black, with terrorism even though he wanted to start a race war but will charge Luigi Mangione with terrorism because he shot a CEO?”

“So wait a damn minute… Luigi mangione is being charged with terrorism but actual nazis and KKK members don’t”

“Luigi getting hit with a terrorism charge… where was this charge for all of the school shooters in the past 12 years?”

“terror charges against luigi are crazy”

“I feel more terror that my wife is a teacher in this country… but please, go on.”

“I don’t feel terrorized at all. Besides didn’t yall give CEOs a safety blanket number to call?”

“I think the powers are overplaying their hand. The best response is to actually deal with healthcare and give him a reasonable charge.”

“They want Luigi Mangione charged with terrorism over murder so that they can accuse anyone who made a haha in the last two weeks of being a terrorist btw”

“Luigi getting hit with a terrorism charge… for his sake I hope his lawyer is worth every penny”

“They’ll charge Luigi with terrorism but not Dylann Roof or the 2022 Buffalo shooter. Both of whom had a manifesto with a clear political agenda.”

“What Luigi allegedly did was not terrorism, but it sure was radical.”

“I do not endorse what Luigi did, but school shootings have been nonstop for decades with nary a thing done about it, but as soon as one CEO gets shot, it’s all the sudden terrorism?”

“Luigi being hit with a terrorism charge is extremely excessive and can only be taken as the ruling class lashing out in an attempt to keep the working class in line.”

Damn!!

Those folks are seriously not holding back…

Wow. Pleasantly surprised to see Luigi’s terrorism charge questioned on MSNBC. pic.twitter.com/iykjcsfsWd

— Read Abolish Rent (@JPHilllllll) December 18, 2024

BTW, you can watch Bragg’s presser about the charges (below):

[Image via Altoona Police Department/ABC News/YouTube]