AOC’s shockingly cold comments on the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO
Squad member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reacted surprisingly coldly to the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The New York Democrat argued that Americans “feel and experience denied claims as an act of violence against them,” as she spoke to CBS News about the response — and sometimes praise — for accused assassin Luigi Mangione.
“I think this collective American experience, which is so distorted in the richest country in the world, all that pain that people have experienced is focused on this,” she told Jaala Brown on the steps of Congress.
‘And it is very important that we take a step back.
“This is not a commentary and this is not to say that an act of violence is justified, but I think anyone who is confused, shocked or horrified needs to understand that people interpret, feel and experience denied claims. as an act of violence against them.
“People become homeless because of the financial devastation of an unanswered diagnosis or the amount they have to pay in a surprise bill and things like that.
“When we talk in this passive way about how the systems are violent in this country, our privatized health care system is the same for a lot of Americans,” Ocasio-Cortez continued, noting that she didn’t even have health insurance until she was elected in Congress.
Her comments came as Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts was forced to retract her comments on the shooting.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez argued that Americans “feel and experience denied claims as an act of violence against them” while speaking to CBS News about the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
“Violence is never the answer, but people can only be pushed so far,” Warren said on MSNBC Tuesday night.
“This is a warning that if you push people hard enough, they will lose confidence in their government’s ability to make change, lose confidence in the ability of the people who deliver health care to make change.” , and start taking things into consideration. their own hands in a way that will ultimately threaten everyone.”
Conservatives on social media disagreed with Warren’s comments about the Democrat issuing a walkback on Wednesday.
‘Violence is never the answer. Period,” she said, according to HuffPost. “I should have been much clearer that there is never any justification for murder.”
Among those who complained about Warren’s wording was a top aide to Republican Sen. Mike Lee.
“This statement creates a non-existent connection between the crazed killer and United Healthcare, which did not cause this rich kid to do anything, even accidentally,” Billy Gribbin, Lee’s communications director, said on X. “He went crazy and killed someone.”
National Review writer Charles CW Cooke devoted an entire column to it in Warren’s words, noting that it’s always the ‘but’ that gets you.”
‘There is a word for this kind of argument in the vast English language. That word is “justification,” Cooke continued.
Thompson, 50, was shot on December 4 outside a Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan
He was shot at close range by a gunman who fired several shots, hitting the CEO in the chest and calf.
Thompson, 50, was shot at point-blank range outside a Hilton hotel in downtown Manhattan on December 4.
The gunman fired several shots during the ambush, jamming his gun, but managed to quickly clear the obstruction and continue shooting, hitting the CEO in the chest and calf.
The bullet casings found at the scene were engraved with the words ‘deny’, ‘defend’ and ‘deposit’ – a clear reference to the systematic denial of claims by health insurers.
Five days after the shooting, 26-year-old Mangione was located at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania and taken into custody on gun charges. He was also later charged with second-degree murder in Thompson’s death.
Mangione was identified as the suspect after he was found Monday at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania
He was said to have a 3D printed pistol and a black silencer loaded with one Glock magazine consisting of six 9mm all-metal jacketed bullets that the NYPD said matched those of bullets found at the scene of the murder Thompson.
The suspect also reportedly had a manifesto outlining his grievances against UnitedHealthcare after a debilitating back injury that required painful spinal surgery.
‘To spare you a lengthy investigation, I clearly state that I have not collaborated with anyone. This was fairly trivial: some basic social engineering, basic CAD, [and] much patience’, he is said to have written in the manifesto, according to the Daily Beast.
He went on to say he had “respect” for federal investigators and apologized for causing any “trauma” but appeared to defend his alleged actions.
“To be honest, these parasites already expected it,” the manifesto wrote.
It claimed that the United States had the “world’s most expensive health care system” but blasted the system for only putting America 42nd in life expectancy.
Police now say they have “no indications” that Mangione was ever a customer of the insurance company.
But Chef Joseph Kelly listed on NBC New York that the manifesto “states that it is the fifth largest company in America, which would make it the largest health care organization in America.
“So that might be why he targeted the company,” Kelly suggested.
Mangione had a public outburst as he was led into court on Tuesday
Mangione appeared in court Tuesday to face the gun charges in Pennsylvania, where he had an intense public meltdown hours earlier.
The orange jumpsuit-clad suspect had to be restrained as he shouted at police as he entered the courtroom.
His attorney, Thomas Dickey, has since claimed that Mangione was simply “agitated” because he had no legal representation at the time.
Dickey has also said his client will plead not guilty to the murder charges in New York and the weapons charges in Pennsylvania – as he continues to fight extradition to the Big Apple.
In the meantime, Mangione is due back in court on December 30, where a judge will review multiple habeas corpus petitions filed on behalf of the suspect and impose bail.
