Social Media Frenzy: Suspect in C.E.O. Murder Cast as Folk Hero

A grainy image of the man’s face has sparked comparisons to Hollywood heartthrobs. His jacket, resembling the one seen in police-issued wanted posters, has become a hot commodity in retail stores. Even more unsettling, the cryptic words etched on the bullets he used to kill a man on a busy Manhattan sidewalk have been embraced by some as a rallying cry.

Three days after the shocking assassination of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan, the unidentified suspect has become, for some online communities, a modern-day folk hero.

Suspected CEO killer Luigi Mangione is seeing a dramatic increase in followers on his social media accounts. On X, a 26-year-old suspect has amassed at least 160,000 followers, gaining roughly 1,000 new followers per minute. Over on Instagram, an account believed to be his—which contained just 10 posts—had grown to at least 65,000 followers before the platform took it down.

Meanwhile, “Free him” began trending on X, with tens of thousands of users calling for Mangione’s release and sharing images from his social media accounts. “He’s too pretty for prison. Free him,” one user posted alongside a photo of a shirtless Mangione hiking in Hawaii. “He’s hot, smart, and anti-capitalist—free him right now,” wrote another.

Rather than aiding the investigation, some users are rooting for the gunman and actively working to thwart police efforts. One notable target of this misplaced allegiance is the Upper West Side hostel where officials believe the suspect stayed. Online review platforms have been flooded with negative comments, with users labelling staff as “narcs” for cooperating with police. The deluge of bad reviews is just one example of the backlash aimed not at the killer but at those aiding the investigation.

The driving force behind this online fervour appears to be the three words found on the bullet casings at the crime scene: “depose,” “deny,” and “delay.” These terms, widely recognised as references to strategies often associated with insurance companies to delay or deny claims, have fuelled public anger toward the health insurance industry. While the words’ exact meaning remains speculative, they’ve been enough to galvanise support for the shooter from certain factions online.

Perhaps the most bizarre manifestation of this phenomenon occurred on Saturday afternoon in Washington Square Park, where a “look-alike” contest was held in the suspect’s honor. About half a dozen men gathered in the December chill, some wearing jackets emblazoned with the words “deny, defend, depose.”