The arrest of 26-year-old Luigi Mangione in the UnitedHealthcare CEO assassination has ignited fierce political debate, with conservatives and progressives clashing over the suspect’s apparent anti-capitalist views driving him to murder.
Sen. Ted Cruz pointed to Mangione’s ideology as evidence that “leftism is a mental disease,” condemning social media users who expressed sympathy with the suspect. “The murderer has been widely celebrated by leftists online. Tragic & sick,” Cruz posted on X.
Take a look —
Leftism is a mental disease.
The suspected murderer, an Ivy League graduate, “subscribed to anti-capitalist and climate-change causes, according to law-enforcement.”
And the murderer has been widely celebrated by leftists online.
Tragic & sick. https://t.co/3VlmRqnbB3
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) December 9, 2024
Law enforcement leaks have revealed Mangione’s manifesto declared “These parasites simply had it coming,” while his online activity showed admiration for “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski.
The Ivy League graduate reportedly harbored grievances against the medical industry over treatment of a sick relative and possibly his own health issues.
“Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy then gives them the drugs to take away their unhappiness,” Mangione quoted from Kaczynski on his Goodreads account.
Former classmates expressed shock at the arrest of the University of Pennsylvania graduate.
“He was just a normal frat guy. He played beer pong. Some girls thought he was hot,” a Penn classmate told The New York Post.
Police allegedly found Mangione with a ghost gun, silencer, and fake IDs at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania after he’d gotten off a Greyhound bus.
Shell casings at the murder scene bore the words “deny,” “delay” and “depose,” echoing criticism of insurance industry practices.
The case has become a flashpoint in debates over healthcare access and corporate accountability. Thompson’s wife had previously reported he received numerous threats before his death.
The suspect’s manifesto indicated he acted alone, though investigation continues into his background, including his work as a data engineer and connection to a prominent Maryland family.