Less than two weeks after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down on the streets of midtown Manhattan, his alleged assassin Luigi Mangione has been greeted not by universal condemnation for the brazen violence – but rather, a surge of enthusiastic support online for his so-called vigilante justice.

The Center for Internet Security (CIS), a nonprofit focused on cybersecurity that partners with government and law enforcement, released a new threat assessment bulletin warning that online support for the alleged shooter risks encouraging copycat attacks.

“Overwhelming bipartisan support for the attack” across social media “has resulted in several narratives encouraging similar violent activities directed at other healthcare executive teams,” CIS analysts said.

“The narratives supporting Mangione’s targeted attack likely serve to encourage like-minded individuals, particularly as Mangione continues to be viewed by the public as an ‘American hero’ and sympathetic figure,” CIS’ bulletin said.

  • RagingRobot@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    No one attacked law enforcement for this thought. They are just fear mongering the police so they will want to protect the rich more.

    • Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works
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      7 days ago

      He (Luigi) literally went out of his way to praise law enforcement in his statement. So yeah, this is all just bullshit, and it’s bad for ya.

    • archonet@lemy.lol
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      7 days ago

      Tells you a lot about why some departments won’t accept cops over a certain IQ. You don’t want your enforcers questioning who they should be working for. You want easily manipulable peons.

    • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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      7 days ago

      Honestly this sounds like a reporter chop job to me. The only discrete mention of threats to law enforcement is protests, fake bomb threats, and Swatting.

      They aren’t saying people are going to murder court officials and police.

    • Shiggles@sh.itjust.works
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      7 days ago

      We did and are mocking them for the amount of attention and resources the murder is getting solely due to the wealth of the target.