Luigi Mangione breaks silence in first public statement since UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting

NEW YORK — Luigi Mangione has publicly spoken out for the first time since his arrest for the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, thanking his supporters in a statement released on a new website launched by his legal team.

“I am overwhelmed by — and grateful for — everyone who has written me to share their stories and express their support,” Mangione said. “Powerfully, this support has transcended political, racial and even class divisions, as mail has flooded MDC (the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn) from across the country, and around the globe.”

“While it is impossible for me to reply to most letters, please know that I read every one that I receive,” he continued. “Thank you again to everyone who took the time to write. I look forward to hearing more in the future.”

In a separate statement on LuigiMangioneInfo.com, his attorneys said they launched the new site “due to the extraordinary volume of inquiries and outpouring of support” for their client. They said they plan to provide answers to frequently asked questions and dispel misinformation, adding their intent is to “share factual information regarding the unprecedented, multiple prosecutions” against Mangione.

The 26-year-old Ivy League graduate is facing multiple criminal charges in New York, Pennsylvania and federal court in connection with Thompson’s murder. The CEO was gunned down in Midtown Manhattan on the morning of Dec. 4 in what authorities called a “premeditated, preplanned, targeted attack.”

Thompson had been visiting the city from Minnesota for an investor conference sponsored by UnitedHealthcare at The Residences by Hilton Club, where he was slated to give a speech later in the day.

Police said Thompson was walking from his hotel toward the venue on West 54th Street near Sixth Avenue, when he was ambushed by a masked gunman around 6:45 a.m. After a dayslong manhunt, Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Atloona, Pennsylvania.