Summary
Sam Beard, organizer of Luigi Mangione’s legal defense fund, claims the dramatic “perp walk” resembling Hannibal Lecter’s treatment backfired on New York authorities, boosting donations to over $743,000.
Mangione, charged with murder and terrorism for allegedly killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, received heightened security during extradition, drawing public sympathy.
Critics argue the campaign glorifies violence, while supporters emphasize fair trial rights.
Mangione, who pleaded not guilty, faces the death penalty if convicted.
Who would’a thunk cops are really bad at reading the room?
“Okay guys, we’ve got an attractive man with a huge amount of public support behind him regardless of guilt. How can we not turn him into a martyr?”
“Hannibal Lecter walk?”
“Yeah that won’t backfire at all!”
lol what could they possibly expect him to do that necessitates having multiple men with rifles?
They read the room they cared about just fine. They wanted to let rich people know they’ll always go above and beyond for them, and they did.
His treatment caused about . 02% of the support for him.
United Heaths treatment of the rest of us caused the rest.
Exactly, if he allegedly murdered the CEO of an organization that doesn’t profit from the death and destruction of it’s customers then the public reaction would be completely different regardless of any perp walk PR stunt.
For profit insurance glorifies violence, not resisting it
Well, also the fact that he looks literally nothing like the dude from the security camera stills, the police have been bungling every single step of the evidence process since before they “caught” Mangione, annnd finally all the work theyve done to preprejudice the public into thinking he did it by organizing documentaries demonizing Mangione while being too busy to provide the details of their “evidence” to Mangione’s legal council (which they are legally obligated to do!)
Well, also the fact that he looks literally nothing like the dude from the security camera stills
I don’t know where this keeps coming from. I’ve got prosopagnosia, and even i can see they look the same.
It’s the most insane cope I’ve ever seen and I don’t get it either. It’s an absolutely stupid theory for multiple reasons, mainly because all the “real” killer has to do is pop another CEO and suddenly the feds look very fucking stupid. Second, if Luigi really isn’t the guy, it is trivial to prove he wasn’t there. The shooter was tracked basically from the moment he set foot in new York, surely there would be some footage of Luigi literally anywhere else during that time.
He was arrested in Pennsylvania, what if was never in New York that night?
Would be trivial to prove with security footage.
The optics the recently indicted (and later hastily pardoned) mayor being one of the guys perp walking the sympathetic suspect probably didn’t help them either.
Right? Most corrupt fuckin cop, there strictly for his own photo op of course, escorting a political-divide-spanning legitimate American folk hero. Seems like a pretty predictable response to me.
What they don’t seem to realize is that Mangione himself isn’t all that important. Whether they kill him or successfully vilify him, in a few years people won’t be thinking about the man himself all that much. Their continued hardship will be what they think about, and as long as it’s the capital class’s fault, the anger will keep growing.
This isn’t about a man anymore. It’s about an idea.
I hope the jury nullifies the charges, but he’s become a symbol for the common people of America because he acted on the fury and frustration that hundreds of millions of us feel. You can’t really kill an idea once it gains hold in the minds of that much of the populace.
Allegedly
This reminds me of V for Vendetta and the end results of V’s campaign, where all the citizenry donned the Fawkes masks together
Behind this mask is more than a man, Mr. Creedy. Behind this mask is an idea, and ideas cannot be killed.
No, I’m Luigicus!
Wait, wrong movie.
The shooter is immortal with or without Luigi. The shooter showed us they bleed and they’re scared and stumbling now to stay in control.
They have to sit and marinate with their mortality now. It scares them knowing they aren’t that different from us
This. Especially because it took days to actually find him. Imagine how pants-shittingly-scared the oligarchs would be if one got capped and they couldn’t find the killer?
Given the success He should start his Presidental run right now. ( I want at least to see this movie )
Eugene V. Debs moment
Ya know, a certain citizen gone president recently employed the tactic to avoid persecution for his crimes… Can we drag the Mangione case another 3 ish years so Luigi can declare for presidency? Then (based on precedent) his case has to stall until after the election.
This image is so ridiculous. Like he’s a danger so much that it took a platoon of people to parade this dude in cuffs. He allegedly killed one dude, he didn’t EAT the guy. It was blatantly obvious for everyone that this was a show of force, and it ironically makes them look weak as fuck.
You want me to respect your strength? Go put handcuffs on Trump. The rule of law is broken. The weak suffer the most and the rich pay to stay out of it.
I’m not a violent man. A death of another human is a complicated introspection for most people. Then there are others who don’t even consider the value or even a difference in perspective. Luigi is not some psychopath. Allegedly, he deliberately chose impact at the highest level he could. The representation of a broken and predatory system. It’s not ok that faceless entities who aren’t doctors can choose the life and death choices over the recommendations of doctors.
He killed one dude,
Stop saying this shit.
Why, is the court going to use random Lemmy comments as evidence?
Police in the US don’t investigate killings, they find a person they feel comfortable pinning it on, and hope the trial works in their favor. We really don’t know if this guy is the guy who shot someone, and NYPD has a long history of picking the wrong person to accuse based on their bias and not on facts or evidence. There’s every possibly he’s actually, in fact, innocent. So far all we’ve been told offically is largely circumstantial.
Why, are you in favor of spreading misinformation?
this. I am tired of people saying “what if someone sees it!?” Because potential jurors are browsing reddit Luigi fan forums, a rando Lemmy server, Instagram Luigi fan accounts, or rando substack comments all at the same time. People are allowed to have opinions about the case. I think he did it. I don’t think he committed murder. He did a service and sacrificed himself. That’s the whole reason for the season.
That is what gets me, all these people who need guns and such to feel strong and tough. The pirates did that. The purpose of the Jolly Roger was to instill fear, but ultimately they wanted the other ship to surrender quickly and without a fight. Pirates were all about show to make victims be afraid of them. But ultimately they were just men in poor health.
It’s like they keep forgetting he is handsome
