Wanted lists and wanted notices for leaders: NYPD warns of threats to leaders
A New York Police Department bulletin released Tuesday highlighted the heightened risk environment for healthcare executives following last week’s brazen killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Viral online posts have listed the names and salaries of several health insurance executives, several “Wanted” signs depicting company executives have been posted across Manhattan, and social media users continue to celebrate the death of Thompson, according to the bulletin.
The warning signs come as a flurry of social media posts indicate that shooting suspect Luigi Mangione could be seen as a “martyr” who could inspire extremists to act.
A New York police officer stands outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan where UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot, December 4, 2024, in New York.
Stefan Jérémie/AP
Because Mangione’s action had “the capacity to inspire a variety of grievance-driven extremists and bad actors to violence,” the NYPD encouraged businesses to increase precautions and executive security.
Mangione was arrested Monday in Pennsylvania and faces charges in New York, including second-degree murder.
“Both before and after the identification and arrest of the alleged perpetrator, some online users on social media platforms reacted positively to the killing, encouraged future targeting of similar leaders, and shared conspiracy theories regarding the shooting,” the bulletin said.
A New York police officer stands on 54th Street in front of the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan where UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot December 4, 2024, in New York.
Stefan Jérémie/AP
The bulletin highlighted a viral social media post featuring the names and salaries of eight health insurance CEOs, which some online users shared “noting that it is a blacklist and that CEOs should be afraid,” according to the newsletter. “Wanted” posters in Manhattan included images of corporate executives and bullet-point graphics warning: “UnitedHealthcare killed ordinary people for profit. As a result, Brian Thompson was denied his right to life. Who will be refused next? and “Wall Street CEOs should not feel safe, deny, defend, depose.”
The NYPD bulletin also included numerous examples of individuals expressing online their belief that Thompson fully deserved to be murdered because of his role in the insurance industry.
“My mother was repeatedly denied chemotherapy and suffered immensely. Her cancer was missed for two years because she was constantly denied it…she will suffer life-changing damage because of this. F* **let him rest in the piss,” one person wrote, according to the report.
A Reddit post cited in the bulletin said: “Politicians are compromised and corporations are stifling us – all CEOs should be considered. It sucks when your government is bought by these CEOs who immediately impact the masses .”
