On June 5, 2025, prosecutors unveiled chilling diary entries allegedly penned by Luigi Mangione, the 27-year-old accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last December. These writings, seized during Mangione's arrest in Altoona, Pennsylvania, offer a disturbing glimpse into the suspect's motivations and meticulous planning leading up to the shooting, which prosecutors argue was a politically charged act designed to terrorize and incite change within the healthcare industry.
The diary, contained in a red notebook confiscated at the time of Mangione's capture, reveals a man consumed by anger toward the health insurance sector. Mangione described UnitedHealthcare as a company that "literally extracts human life force for money," branding it part of a "deadly greed-fueled cartel." His entries chronicle months of preparation, including surveillance of Thompson near the New York Hilton hotel the night before the killing, on December 3, 2024.
One entry dated August 15, 2024, reads, "I finally feel confident about what I will do. The details are coming together. And I don't feel any doubt about whether it's right/justified. I'm glad in a way that I've procrastinated bc it allowed me to learn more about UHC." This passage underscores the deliberate and calculated nature of Mangione's plans. He initially contemplated a larger-scale attack, possibly bombing UnitedHealthcare's headquarters, but rejected this idea due to the risk of harming innocent people, writing, "Bombs=terrorism," and labeling such acts as "an unjustified catastrophe."
Instead, Mangione settled on targeting Thompson directly at the company's annual investor conference, which he referred to as the "annual parasitic bean-counter convention." In an October 2024 entry, he wrote, "It's targeted, precise, and doesn't risk innocents. Most importantly, the point is self-evident." He envisioned headlines proclaiming, "Insurance CEO killed at annual investors conference," adding, "It conveys a greedy bastard that had it coming." These words suggest a desire not only to kill but to send a symbolic message against what he perceived as corporate greed.
Prosecutors have emphasized that Mangione's writings make explicit the political nature of the crime. Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann stated, "If ever there were an open and shut case pointing to defendant’s guilt, this case is that case. Simply put, one would be hard-pressed to find a case with such overwhelming evidence of guilt as to the identity of the murderer and premeditated nature of the assassination." Seidemann further explained, "Brian Thompson and UHC were simply symbols of the healthcare industry and what the defendant considered a deadly greed-fueled cartel."
Authorities have characterized the killing as premeditated and politically motivated, an act intended to "invoke terror," according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The crime has sparked a broader national conversation about the high costs and perceived injustices of the American healthcare system. Employees within the health insurance sector have expressed heightened fears for their safety, with some reportedly being advised not to wear company-branded apparel.
Additional court documents shed light on the moments before the shooting. On the evening of December 3, Mangione was spotted walking along West 54th Street and Sixth Avenue near the Hilton Hotel, appearing to be on a cellphone, when Thompson passed him in the opposite direction. The following morning, Mangione allegedly waited across the street from the hotel before approaching Thompson from behind and shooting him in the back. Investigators recovered three cartridge shells at the scene, each inscribed with the words "deny," "delay," and "depose," a likely reference to tactics used by insurance companies to handle claims. The shell casings matched the firearm found in Mangione's possession upon his arrest.
Five days after the shooting, on December 9, 2024, Mangione was apprehended at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after a worker recognized him from images released by authorities. At the time of arrest, Mangione carried a confessional note titled "To the feds," in which he wrote, "it had to be done," and clarified that he acted alone without any accomplices.
Despite the mounting evidence, Mangione has pleaded not guilty to both state and federal charges, including first-degree murder and terrorism-related offenses. His defense team has filed motions seeking to dismiss the New York state murder case, arguing that Mangione was not afforded his constitutional rights at the time of arrest and that the government’s prosecution is a "corrupt web of dysfunction and one-upmanship." Defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo described the situation as a "high-stakes game of tug-of-war between state and federal prosecutors, except the trophy is a young man's life."
Mangione's legal defense fund has garnered significant public attention, surpassing $1 million in donations amid protests outside court hearings calling for his release. His next court appearance is scheduled for June 26, 2025, where a pre-trial hearing will address the admissibility of evidence and shape the trajectory of the proceedings.
The case remains a focal point in debates about the intersection of political violence, mental health, and systemic grievances within the healthcare sector. It raises difficult questions about how society confronts perceived corporate malfeasance and the boundaries of protest and violence.
