Washington [US], January 30: A man posed as an FBI agent to infiltrate a US prison in an attempt to rescue Luigi Mangione, a suspect in the murder of the UnitedHealthcare company director.
US officials arrested Mark Anderson, 36, late on January 28 at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York City, for impersonating an FBI agent in an attempt to break him out of prison .
AFP, citing court records, reported that Anderson told prison staff that he had a judge's signed order to release a prisoner. However, when asked for identification, he only presented a driver's license and later claimed to have a weapon on him.
After the arrest, officials found a large fork and a steel cleaver, similar to those used for cutting pizza, in the suspect's backpack.
Judicial sources confirmed that the person Anderson wanted to rescue was Luigi Mangione (27 years old), the suspect accused of shooting and killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024. The crime was captured on surveillance cameras.
The murder shocked America but also exposed a wave of outrage over the country's profit-driven private health insurance system. Officials condemned the shocking killing, but Mangione became a hero in the eyes of some who were resentful of healthcare costs and the actions of insurance companies.
Mr. Mangione has been indicted at both the federal and state levels. He has pleaded not guilty in both cases. The federal trial is scheduled to begin jury selection on September 8th. The date for the other case has not yet been set.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper