The so-called “manifesto” of Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan last week, has been leaked to independent reporter Ken Klippenstein. And while Gizmodo can’t independently confirm it’s the real deal, it looks much more authentic than the fake manifesto that was going viral on Monday.
The note is 262 words long and some of the hand-written words are transcribed as unreadable. But reading the short manifesto, it’s pretty clear that Mangione was motivated by the tremendous injustices regularly perpetrated by the healthcare industry in the United States.
Klippenstein says major media outlets also have the manifesto but have refused to publish it. The reporter says he reached out to the New York Times, CNN, and ABC but hasn’t gotten an explanation for why they would sit on something newsworthy like this.
The manifesto in full, according to Klippenstein:
To the Feds, I’ll keep this short, because I do respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone. This was fairly trivial: some elementary social engineering, basic CAD, a lot of patience. The spiral notebook, if present, has some straggling notes and To Do lists that illuminate the gist of it. My tech is pretty locked down because I work in engineering so probably not much info there. I do apologize for any strife of traumas but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming. A reminder: the US has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy. United is the [indecipherable] largest company in the US by market cap, behind only Apple, Google, Walmart. It has grown and grown, but as our life expectancy? No the reality is, these [indecipherable] have simply gotten too powerful, and they continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has allwed them to get away with it. Obviously the problem is more complex, but I do not have space, and frankly I do not pretend to be the most qualified person to lay out the full argument. But many have illuminated the corruption and greed (e.g.: Rosenthal, Moore), decades ago and the problems simply remain. It is not an issue of awareness at this point, but clearly power games at play. Evidently I am the first to face it with such brutal honesty.
Klippenstein had previously been banned from X for sharing a leaked document from the Trump-Vance campaign. Elon Musk, the owner of X, donated over a quarter of a billion dollars during this past election cycle to support Donald Trump and other Republicans. And Klippenstein warned people on that platform Tuesday that he could get banned again.
A fake manifesto went viral Monday that appeared to originate on Substack. But it was first published after Mangione was arrested. There was also a hoax video that went viral on YouTube but the video-sharing site confirmed to Gizmodo that wasn’t real.
Mangione appeared in court on Tuesday and footage captured on his way from a vehicle showed him trying to shout a message to journalists as police physically held him back. He can be heard saying that something is “completely out of touch” and “an insult to the intelligence of the American people,” though the context wasn’t captured by reporters on the scene. Police can be seen holding Mangione by the neck as they force him into the courthouse.
Luigi Mangione on his way to his extradition hearing shouts: "This is completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people" pic.twitter.com/GXSEGBuGpn
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) December 10, 2024
People continue to sort through Mangione’s online footprint, which includes posts on Goodreads, X, and others. Mangione also had a Reddit account where he posted about back pain, according to a new report from Forbes.
Mangione appears to have been posting on Reddit under the username Mister_Cactus, which has been suspended by the platform. And it’s clear he struggled with serious back problems that brought him into close contact with the healthcare industry. Posting on r/spondylolisthesis, a forum to discuss spinal issues, Mangione’s account gave tips on how to push back against doctors who refuse to help.
“Keep trying different surgeons. ‘Nobody will operate on my back until I’m at least 40’ is nonsense coming from a medical professional who lacks perspective,” one of the comments said, according to Forbes.
Social media has been absolutely flooded by memes and videos about Mangione, setting off a debate about decorum and whether his alleged actions should be celebrated, even jokingly. Fox News and CNN have been distressed by the jokes, with Jim Acosta and Brian Stelter beside themselves with indignation Tuesday about the tone on social media.
“Here is a way for young people out there who are going online and talking about the suspect’s appearance and so on. They can do something with their time other than going on these social media sites and posting these kinds of comments,” said Acosta. “They can go organize. They can do the things that can be done to get legislation passed in this country.”
“It might be a lot harder than posting your hot take on social media,” Acosta continued, “but my goodness, that is how you get real change in this country. Not… not doing, not doing what Mangione did and certainly not putting him up on a pedestal.”
Correction: This post originally stated that Elon Musk had donated over a quarter of a million dollars to elect Trump and other Republicans in last month’s election. It was over a quarter of a billion dollars. Specifically, $277 million, according to CBS News. Gizmodo regrets the error and the fact that our country is about to be run by vile billionaires who will enrich themselves even further.
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