GoFundMe cancels all pro-Luigi Mangione campaigns after suspected killer's arrest
GoFundMe has canceled all pro-Luigi Mangione campaigns after the suspected killer was charged for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Thompson was fatally shot outside of the Hilton Hotel in Manhattan, New York on Wednesday (December 4).
Footage released by police showed the moment a person armed with a gun approached the UnitedHealthcare CEO from behind and began shooting.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch subsequently told reporters authorities believe the attack was 'premeditated, preplanned' and 'targeted'.
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"Based on the evidence we have so far, it does appear the victim was specifically targeted. But at this point, we do not know why," the NYPD chief of detectives said.
Despite fleeing the scene, officials eventually caught up with the suspect in a McDonald's some 200 miles away from New York City in Pennsylvania after receiving a tipoff.
After being brought in for questioning, Luigi Nicholas Mangione, 26, has since been charged with the murder of Thompson.
Despite being charged with murder, Mangione has supporters and GoFundMes have even been set-up in a bid to financially help the murder suspect.
However, according to TMZ, pages supported the suspect have been removed from the fundraiser site.
Campaigns from Mangione's have been set up in the last day or so in the hope of raising cash for the suspect's legal fees.
A spokesperson for GoFundMe told TMZ: "GoFundMe’s Terms of Service prohibit fundraisers for the legal defense of violent crimes. The fundraisers have been removed from our platform and all donors have been refunded."
The outlet states that new pages continue to go up however, so GoFundMe is having to be on its toes to keep all the campaigns offline.
Mangione, whose last known residency is in Honolulu, Hawaii, has also been charged with possessing an unlicensed firearm, forgery, and providing false ID to police.
The suspect is currently being held in custody in Pennsylvania awaiting to be extradited to New York to face his charges, and will remain behind bars for the foreseeable as he's been refused bail.
Many have had their say on this very serious situation, including comedian Bill Burr.
Speaking on the Anything Better? podcast, Burr said: "I was sitting there reading an article, and a guy was like, ‘Oh my god, he’s such a great guy, He had a wife and kids, and he’s such a great guy'.
"And then you find out, he and the other guys he’s working for are getting sued for $121 million for dumping a stock and not letting the other people know."
Callum Jones