Mangione was concerned about harms from ‘shallow entertainment’: Journalist

Luigi Mangione, the man accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, was “afraid of losing agency” to technology, a friend said Monday.

British journalist Gurwinder Bhogal befriended Mangione after he became a fan of Bhogal’s blog focused on the impacts of the technology in the modern age. 

In an interview with CNN, Bhogal claimed the 26-year-old bashed tech advancements, dubbing common internet pastimes as “shallow entertainment” that were “taking people’s agency away from them.”

“He also believed social media addiction was a big problem that was taking people’s agency away from them as well,” Bhogal told anchor Erin Burnett. 

“And he feared this was happening to him as well. And one of the topics of the conversation … was about, he wanted advice from me on how he could sort of reclaim some agency.”

The two stopped communicating in July after Mangione “went off-grid” following an almost two-hour video call with each other. Bhogal said he couldn’t have predicted Mangione would be linked to the insurance CEO’s death based on their conversations but acknowledged Mangione spent time criticizing the American health system.

“I mean, there are a couple of things which kind of make a bit more sense now, but — I mean, I can’t say that I would have really predicted his behavior … from that video call,” Bhogal said. 

“He did allude to his frustrations with the U.S. health care system,” specifically how expensive it was, and that led to a discussion about the U.K. system.

Mangione “kind of seemed to idolize the U.K.’s health care system.”

The Maryland native was apprehended by authorities in Altoona, Pa., on Dec. 9, five days after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down in Manhattan.

Police are still unsure of the motive behind Thompson’s shooting. Authorities found a note in Mangione’s possession at the time of his arrest, and messages related to the health insurance industry were etched on the shell casings discovered at the crime scene.

However, authorities have confirmed Mangione wasn’t insured by UnitedHealthcare.

Mangione is scheduled for his next court appearance Thursday morning for a preliminary hearing on firearms charges in Pennsylvania.

A separate proceeding will be held Dec. 30 over New York’s attempt to extradite Mangione to Manhattan to face a murder charge in Thompson’s killing, according to court documents.