Disgraced former Washington Post reporter and erstwhile Vox Media podcaster Taylor Lorenz has gushed over accused murderer Luigi Mangione and defended his growing legion of fans.
Lorenz heaped praise on accused UnitedHealthcare CEO assassin Mangione while slamming the media for criticizing the army of youths who consider him a hero or role model, declaring he’s “handsome,” “smart,” “revolutionary” and “morally good” in a discussion about the accused’s online fandom.
“It’s hilarious to see these millionaire media pundits on TV clutching their pearls about someone stanning a murderer when this is the United States of America — as if we don’t lionize criminals,” she told CNN in a bubbly interview.
“As if we don’t stan murderers of all sorts. We give them Netflix shows,” she added.
Mangione, 26, is on trial for the Dec. 4 execution of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, who was gunned down in the streets of Midtown Manhattan outside his hotel, as Breitbart News reported.
Mangione is accused of plotting the assassination in order to sow terror in the health insurance industry, which he allegedly railed against in a journal police seized during his arrest in Pennsylvania days after the shooting, prosecutors say.
The NY Post reports since the killing, Mangione has risen to folk hero status among some radical leftists, who consider his alleged actions acceptable — or even admirable.
A Reddit community called r/FreeLuigi has more than 38,000 members, mostly girls and young women, who breathlessly proclaim Mangione’s innocence and swoon over his matinee idol looks in a deranged internet echo chamber.
A crowd funding campaign has also started in his name.
NEW: Crowdfunding campaign for Luigi Mangione, suspect in the murder of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson, announces that Mangione's defense counsel will accept nearly $300,000 raised from over 10,000 supporters. pic.twitter.com/KOQT2tLs7S
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) February 10, 2025
O’Sullivan asked Lorenz about the media’s typically negative reactions to the fangirls who have shown up in force at his court appearances, and she said she felt their veneration of the accused murderer made perfect sense.
“You’re gonna see women especially that feel like, ‘oh my God, here’s this man who’s a revolutionary, who’s famous, who’s handsome, who’s young, who’s smart, he’s a person that seems like this morally good man,’ which is hard to find,” Lorenz said as she and CNN correspondent Donnie O’Sullivan laughed along merrily.
As Breitbart News reported, the NYPD characterized the assassination of Thompson as a “brazen targeted attack.”
The Trump administration has since taken the rare step of seeking the death penalty against Mangione, pushing for what would be the first Manhattan federal execution in 70 years.
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Mangione is accused of gunning down Thompson outside a Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan as the CEO headed to an investors conference on Dec. 4. He was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, five days after the murder.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state charges. He hasn’t entered a plea to federal charges.
Mangione’s next federal court date is currently set for April 18, followed by a state hearing on June 26.
