At a press conference Tuesday announcing the indictment of Luigi Mangione on charges of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch scolded the countless Americans who have celebrated his death.
“In the nearly two weeks since Mr. Thompson’s killing, we have seen a shocking and appalling celebration of cold-blooded murder,” Tisch said. “Social media has erupted with praise for this cowardly attack.”
Soon after Thompson’s death, a handful of “wanted” posters featuring the insurance executive’s face with a red “X” on top were plastered around Manhattan.
The commissioner called the posters “ghoulish” Tuesday and denounced the implication that Thompson was “some sort of a sick trophy.”
At one point, Tisch held aloft a copy of the New York Post. The cover story was about a socialist clothing company founder creating a deck of cards with photos of “most wanted” CEOs who, Tisch said, could be “targeted for assassination” next.
“These are the threats of a lawless, violent mob who would trade in their own vigilantism for the rule of law that protects us all,” she said.
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Tisch concluded by describing Mangione as a “cold and calculated” villain.
“Let me say this plainly: There is no heroism in what Mangione did,” she said. “This was a senseless act of violence. It was a cold and calculated crime that stole a life and put New Yorkers at risk. We don’t celebrate murderers and we don’t lionize the killing of anyone.
“Any attempt to rationalize this is vile, reckless and offensive to our deeply held principles of justice.”