An attorney representing Luigi Mangione said he has received offers from people to pay the legal bills of his client, now charged in New York with the murder of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO in a brazen early morning attack.
Mangione, 26, was arrested in a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday. Mangione’s attorney Thomas Dickey would not say who had retained him, but confirmed he’s had emails with offers of cash for his client’s defense.
It came five days after Brian Thompson was fatally shot by a masked gunman as he walked alone to his company’s annual investor conference in Manhattan at the New York Hilton Midtown at around 6:45 a.m. on December 4.
At a hearing on Tuesday, Mangione contested his extradition to New York, where prosecutors have charged him with second-degree murder, two gun offenses, forgery and possession of a suppressor, according to The New York Times. He remains held without bail in Pennsylvania on charges of possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Tuesday that she would sign a request for a governor’s warrant to expedite Mangione’s return to New York.
Dickey told reporters on Tuesday that his client will plead not guilty to the weapons and forgery charges filed in Pennsylvania. Newsweek has contacted Dickey’s office for comment via email.
In an appearance on CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins on Tuesday, Dickey declined to confirm whether it was Mangione’s relatives—he hails from a prominent Maryland real estate family—who were paying for him to represent Mangione.
Asked by Collins if he had been retained by Mangione’s family or someone else, Dickey replied: “I’m not going to comment on that. That’s—I’ve been retained. I’m not court-appointed. I’ve been retained and that’s all I can tell you.”
When Collins asked about reports that he had been inundated with offers from people wanting to pay Mangione’s legal bills, Dickey said: “I have received some emails. I have not seen them personally. But my understanding from my staff is people are doing that.”
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Asked why he thinks people have made such offers, Dickey suggested that they may be “exercising their right to free speech.”
“You know, the Supreme Court says, all these rich billionaires can give all kinds of money to candidates, and that’s free speech,” he said. “So, maybe these people were exercising their right to free speech, and saying, that’s the way they’re supporting my client.”
Thompson’s killing sparked discussion about the unfairness of the health insurance industry and corporate greed, with some expressing support toward his killer on social media. A GiveSendGo page set up shortly after the shooting saw a surge in donations after Mangione was taken into custody. The page had raised more than $26,000 to help pay for his legal costs as of Wednesday. Meanwhile, GoFundMe has reportedly shut down multiple fundraising pages that had been set up to collect donations for Mangione.
Dickey said he “probably wouldn’t” accept offers from strangers to cover Mangione’s legal bills.
“I just don’t feel comfortable about that,” he said. “So, I don’t know. I haven’t given that much thought … Obviously my client appreciates the support that he has. But I don’t know … I’d have to look in. But it just doesn’t sit right with me, really.”
He also told Collins that he is fighting Mangione’s extradition to New York because the U.S. Constitution “gives you certain rights.”
He said: “The Constitution permits that somebody in Luigi’s position has the opportunity to look at evidence, make sure the government follows through a process. And that’s what we’re doing.”
He said: “I argued today, at the extradition hearing, I still haven’t received details about the charges that he’s facing in New York … we as lawyers need to make informed decisions, and we need to get our hands and our eyes on some evidence.”
He added that he hasn’t “seen any evidence” that authorities have the “right guy.”
