Luigi Mangione seems to have shown support for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s longshot campaign for president, spurning Donald Trump and Joe Biden, before he allegedly gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, based on deleted social media posts.
In the day since Mangione’s arrest, speculation has swirled about his possible motivations for the crime, his mental state, and his political beliefs.
His X account, which sat dormant for several months leading up to the shooting, hints at an admiration for multiple anti-establishment figures on the right, including the man who has become Donald Trump’s controversial pick for secretary of health and human services.
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Mangione shared a post made by infamous leaker Edward Snowden on July 4, as Democrats sought to replace Joe Biden after his disastrous debate performance against Trump, according to Business Insider. Snowden wrote, “darkly amusing to watch panicked dems suddenly searching under the couch cushions for a candidate when kennedy is literally standing right there.”
Kennedy eventually dropped out of the presidential race and threw his support behind Trump, quickly becoming one of his strongest allies—and eventually a Cabinet nominee.
Still visible on Mangione’s X account is a post he reshared in support of another contentious Trump backer, billionaire Elon Musk.
“Your commitment to long-term civilizational success, Elon, is not universally shared,” the post, from @oldbooksguy, read. “What you call the “woke mind virus” cares about one thing only: equality… The levelers want to destroy everything because in the rubble we will all be equal.”
That post was in response to one Musk made in March defending himself as a “centrist,” explaining that he was in “a battle to the death with the anti-civilizational woke mind virus.”
Mangione also reportedly made a post, in his words, critiquing the two initial major-party candidates for the 2024 election.
“Both parties—Trump with his refusal to accept the results of an election, and Biden with his refusal to accept his age and step down—are simultaneously proving how desperately individuals will cling to power,” Mangione wrote in response to a post by pollster Nate Silver, according to Business Insider.
The Daily Beast could not independently verify the deleted posts referenced in the Business Insider report.
When he was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Mangione was carrying a hand-scrawled note condemning the health insurance industry. He has been charged with murder, three gun-related charges, and fraud.
Today, a judge denied him bail, and his lawyer said he would fight not to be extradited to New York.
