When news broke that the United Healthcare CEO was shot in broad daylight early last month, outrage erupted online. But it wasn’t aimed at the assassin. Instead, it was directed at the broken U.S. healthcare system he represented. But, it turns out, for those who expressed “negative sentiment” about insurance companies online, the government was watching.
A document obtained by the transparency nonprofit Property of the People via the New York State Intelligence Center, and reported by journalist Ken Klippenstein on his Substack, warned against “users online wanting to counter ‘corporate greed.’” Marked “LAW ENFORCEMENT USE ONLY,” this type of document is typically inaccessible to the public, and is only in the public domain thanks to the transparency efforts of Property of the People.
“The warning signs come as a sea of social media posts indicate that shooting suspect Luigi Mangione might be viewed as a ‘martyr’ who could inspire extremists to action,” the document reads. “There is a concern with potential copy-cat attacks, increased online threats of violence, and potential for hoax or doxing incidents directed at high-profile corporate employees or public leaders.”
The report cited examples including a viral online poll asking, “Who is the most hated CEO in America?” and the “Wanted” posters that briefly appeared around Manhattan, displaying the names and salaries of several health insurance executives. (In response, panicked executives scrambled to scrub their personal information from the internet and hired additional security.)
The document also mentioned the wave of positive posts on social media about Mangione. One X user described his perp walk as the “Hardest pic of 2024.” Another replied to the NYPD News X account, “Did you guys . . . make him hotter?”
According to Klippenstein, the document is part of a larger wave of threat reports circulated among law enforcement by intelligence hubs established after 9/11 to combat terrorism, known as fusion hubs.
Mangione is currently facing 11 state criminal counts in New York, including first-degree murder and murder as a crime of terrorism. If you were one of those who liked his mug shot or a related meme, be wary.
“Oh, so everyone?” one reader commented under Klippenstein’s post. “That narrows it down.”
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