The internet is obsessed with Luigi Mangione! The man accused of shooting United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4 has become the reason for a growing wave of conspiracy theories, with online discussions regarding everything from his eyebrows to the bizarre significance of the number 286.
Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old from Maryland, has worked for various tech companies and briefly lived in Honolulu, Hawaii. His family is reportedly well-off, with real estate holdings and a chain of senior rehabilitation centres. He allegedly viewed the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as a direct challenge to the healthcare industry. As per the New York Times, according to a 262-word handwritten manifesto found in his possession, he condemned the industry’s corruption and power games, stating that its leaders were parasites who had it coming.
It all began when Brian Thompson arrived at a Hilton hotel on West 54th Street to prepare for a UnitedHealthcare investors’ day gathering, and Luigi Mangione, in a dark hooded jacket, a grey backpack, and a mask covering the bottom of his face, fired three shots with a pistol with a silencer. As of December, Mangione is kept in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, the same one where Sean “Diddy” Combs is being held.
While reports on whether Mangione had any personal vendetta with the CEO remain unclear, including frequent back pain and brain fog, He had undergone surgery in 2023, and his mother had filed a missing-person report for him in November 2024. Personal struggles with the healthcare system may have influenced his actions; reportedly, the young lad had several physical and mental health issues.
Furthermore, thousands of users are reportedly talking about Mangione’s case. As per WIRED, several users across platforms like Reddit, TikTok, and others claimed that some believe he was misidentified based on inconsistencies in his mugshot. Mangione’s eyebrows apparently don’t match the images released by police and his booking photograph.
View this post on Instagram
Meanwhile, others argued that eyebrow hair doesn’t grow fast enough to change in just a few days. Another theory focused on the number 286, which appears in multiple aspects of Magione’s online presence. His X ( formerly Twitter) profile featured the Pokémon Breloom, which is listed as #286, and he had exactly 286 posts on the platform at the time of his arrest.
Additionally, 286 is a code used by health insurance companies when appeal deadlines are missed. Some have even linked it to a Bible verse, Proverbs 28:6, which contrasts virtue with corruption. In addition, other theories also suggest Mangione is a “patsy” or even a “CIA plant,” a common claim after high-profile incidents. Some users attempted to link his grandfather to Nancy Pelosi’s brother through an old newspaper interview.
View this post on Instagram
Brian Thompson became UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive in April 2021, and he spent more than 20 years rising through the ranks at UnitedHealthcare, which employs about 140,000 people. As per Eyewitness News, his next hearing in Pennsylvania is scheduled for February 24, which may eventually get a continuance or a remote Zoom appearance, given the difficulty of returning for an in-person hearing once he’s in New York custody.
Mangione has been charged with 11 state criminal counts in New York, including first-degree murder and murder as a crime of terrorism. Regardless of the brewing theories, the curious case of Luigi Mangione is a developing story that seems to have a lot of hidden agenda and social media scrutiny. Stay tuned for further updates.
