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Luigi Mangione was allegedly terrified of the dangers of social media, video games and porn — and railed about US healthcare months before he is accused of gunning down health insurance CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan, according to a writer who befriended him.
The 26-year-old let on to fears he was losing control of his life while seeking help in a series of online and video chats just before he cut contact with his family, Substack writer Gurwinder Bhogal told CNN.
“He was very concerned with things like online porn. He believed a lot of men were not going out and meeting women because they were addicted to porn,” Bhogal alleged.
“He was really concerned about video games, he believed that people were not making accomplishments, they were not accomplishing things in the real world because they were getting the dopamine hits from video games.”
Mangione was also terrified that social media was taking people’s “agency” away, and was concerned he was also losing control over his life due to a social media addiction, according to Bhogal, who said he had a two-hour video call with Mangione about those fears just before he disappeared earlier this year.
“He was afraid that technology was going to take people’s agency away. He actually believed that this was already happening,” Bhogal alleged.
This belief is what led Mangione to become interested in the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, according to Bhogal.
“He became interested in Kaczynski’s work for this reason — because Kaczynski also believed this,” Bhogal explained.
Mangione shared his views on Kaczynski — who killed three and injured 23 more between 1978 and 1995 — online, liking one of his quotes and writing a review of his manifesto.
During their call, Mangione also alluded to “his frustrations with the US healthcare system,” Bhogal alleged.
“He said the US healthcare system was really expensive and I told him about the NHS (National Health Service) because here in the UK we have a free healthcare system. And he kind of seemed to idolize the UK’s healthcare system,” Bhogal claimed.
Mangione is accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, outside a Midtown hotel on Dec. 4.
He was later arrested in Altoona, Pa. after he was recognized while eating in a McDonald’s restaurant. Mangione was charged in Pennsylvania with forgery and carrying a firearm without a license.
He has not waived his right to an extradition hearing to face murder charges in New York.