An MSNBC segment that tried to connect the shooting suspect of UnitedHealthcare CEO with a potential appointee of Donald Trump has drawn criticism from various political quarters.
Well-known MSNBC host Rachel Maddow attempted to tie Luigi Mangione, who is suspected in the recent murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, to Trump’s rumored selection for Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Director, Blake Masters. Maddow pointed to both individuals’ interest in the Unabomber’s writings as a potential link.
During her broadcast, Maddow stated, “If it is him [Mangione], the fact that he’s a professed Unabomber fan is unsettling. I might mention that it’s even more unsettling that Donald Trump’s reported choice to run the ATF is also a self-professed fan of the Unabomber.”
Masters’s interest in the Unabomber, Theodore Kaczynski, was revealed in a 2022 interview where he called Kaczynski a “subversive thinker” worth studying. “I’ll probably get in trouble for saying this,” Masters stated. “How about, like, Theodore Kaczynski?”
Although Masters acknowledged finding value in Kaczynski’s thoughts and writings about technology, he firmly distanced himself from Kaczynski’s deadly bombing campaign. This reign of terror, which caused three deaths and many injuries over nearly two decades, instilled fear throughout the United States until Kaczynski was finally captured in 1996.
Journalists and social media users from all political backgrounds swiftly criticized Maddow’s comments.
Accusations of “unhinged” analysis and attempts to link unrelated events to Trump were directed at Maddow. Left-wing journalist Ken Klippenstein was one of the first to question the connection made by Maddow.
Mangione, a 26-year-old, was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after surveillance footage showed him disembarking from a Greyhound bus around 9 a.m. on Monday, December 9. Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens suggested that Mangione might have been in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh after the shooting on December 4.
Thompson was shot three times at close range outside the New York Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan, where he was due to host UnitedHealthcare’s annual investor meeting to discuss the company’s yearly profits. Investigators found shell casings marked with the words “deny,” “defend,” and “depose.”
Upon his arrest, Mangione had a 3D-printed pistol with a black silencer, six 9mm full-metal jacket rounds in a Glock magazine, and one loose 9mm hollow-point round. His lawyer, Thomas Dickey, said his client will plead not guilty to both homicide and weapons charges in Pennsylvania.
A three-page handwritten document expressing “ill will toward corporate America” was found on Mangione, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny. The document included a direct message to federal investigators stating he acted alone.
David Kaczynski, the Unabomber’s brother, voiced concern about his brother’s ongoing influence, stating it would be a “terrible mistake” if Mangione was influenced by the Unabomber’s ideology.
Indications suggest that Mangione’s actions may have been driven by grievances against the healthcare industry. His social media account contained x-ray images of a complex procedure on his back.
Mangione is set to have a preliminary hearing on December 23.
