Luigi Mangione supporters have donated tens of thousands of dollars to “defense funds” set up for him after he was arrested on suspicion of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The anonymous fund “December 4th Legal Committee” surpassed more than $130,000 in donations on the crowdfunding website GiveSendGo by Monday afternoo.
The group’s name is an apparent reference to the day the 26-year-old allegedly gunned down the healthcare executive on a busy Manhattan street.
“We are not here to celebrate violence, but we do believe in the constitutional right to fair legal representation,” the group said in a statement.
It comes after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg described support for Mr Mangione as abhorrent amid fears he was being turned into a martyr.
“Celebrating this conduct is abhorrent to me. It’s deeply disturbing,” Mr Bragg told ABC News on Wednesday night.
“And what I would say to members of the public, people who as you described are celebrating this and maybe contemplating other action, that we will be vigilant and we will hold people accountable,” he added.
Mr Mangione was arrested with a 3D-printed gun at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania on Monday following a six-day manhunt for the hooded shooter who shot Mr Thompson last week.
The gun matches three shell casings found at the crime scene and marked with “deny,” “delay” and “depose”, police officials said this week.
Mangione also possessed a silencer, a 262-word manifesto, a spiral notebook containing a “to-do list”, and several false ID cards.
Mr Thompson, 50, was shot in the back on 4 December outside the New York Hilton Midtown, with surveillance footage showing a dark-hooded figure with a grey backpack firing from several feet away.
Since the shooting, the high-profile killing has gripped international headlines. Mangione is currently being held in a Pennsylvania jail without bond as he awaits extradition to New York where he faces a murder charge. He also faces charges for gun law violations in Pennsylvania.
However, under New York law, he is only charged with murder in the second degree, which carries a penalty of 15 years to life in prison.
This is because the tougher first-degree murder charge only applies to a narrow list of aggravating circumstances, including when the victim is a judge, a police officer or a first responder, or when the killing involves a murder-for-hire or an intent to commit terrorism, according to CNN.
After his arrest, Mangione was charged and arraigned on five Pennsylvania offenses including forgery, falsely identifying himself, and carrying a gun without a license.
On Monday, he made a brief appearance at the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg where he was informed of the charges against him and said he understood.
The suspect returned to the Blair County Courthouse as he faced an extradition hearing Tuesday after New York prosecutors charged him with second-degree murder in connection with the Mr Thompson’s killing.
“It’s completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people and their lived experience,” Mangione yelled as he was escorted in handcuffs into the courthouse.
