One year after the murder of Brian Thompson, the chief executive officer of UnitedHealthcare, on a Manhattan street on December 4, 2024, the case of Luigi Mangione, the main defendant, continues to divide the United States. The 27-year-old appeared, hands cuffed behind his back and flanked by two officers, before a New York court on Monday, December 1, where 25 of his supporters – who had been authorized to attend the preliminary hearing – were waiting for him, wearing T-shirts showing support.

Mangione was suspected of shooting Thompson in the early morning as the CEO was leaving his hotel in Midtown, before fleeing the scene. Footage captured by a surveillance camera – shown in court on Monday – is chilling: it showed a hooded man carrying a backpack stepping out of the shadows, brandishing a pistol fitted with a silencer, and coldly shooting a man in a suit in the back, who then collapsed. On the shell casings found at the murder scene, the words “deny,” “delay,” and “depose” were inscribed – a reference to tactics used by insurance companies to deny, delay, or dispute patient reimbursements as much as possible.

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