Luigi Mangione will reappear in court this month

Luigi Mangione, the defendant accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, will reappear in court this month after pleading not guilty to state charges in December.

During his arraignment hearing, the prosecution and defense agreed to delay his next court date to February 21 to grant the parties more time to prepare the case for trial, NBC reported.

Outside the courtroom, a crowd protested against the state and federal charges, including murder as an act of terrorism. Mangione, who could face the death penalty, also received 300,000 dollars in donations for his defense.

The accused's popularity became a reckoning moment for the industry. In a New York Times op-ed, United Group's CEO, UnitedHealthcare's parent company, admitted that the system is flawed.

Alex Goldenberg of the online threat tracking institute Network Contagion Research Institute told the newspaper that the social media discourse, unlike during other acts of public violence, is “mainstream.”

Offline was not great either. According to the Wall Street Journal, ‘wanted’ signs with the faces of industry leaders appeared around lower Manhattan. They hanged with the macabre suggestion they might be next.

The BBC said that the institutional condolences for Mr. Thompson's death were met by angry online comments. According to the outlet, "thoughts and prior authorizations," as a play on "thoughts and prayers," was a common phrase.

According to ABC News, UnitedHealthcare's official Facebook page had to block the comments on a post memorializing Mr. Thompson after it was filled with laughing emojis.

Photo: UnitedHealth Group / Facebook

However, the online anger was not all insensitive jokes. Some people took the event as an opportunity to share how the insurance company denied them treatment, making it easier for others to undermine the violence of the act.

Immediately after the killing, jokes floated all around social media about people not collaborating with the police to protect the identity of the killer or delay the investigation.

According to NBC, the growing community of online detectives that usually jump to help police after a violent incident like that decided to deny the authorities their help.

Derrick Crowe, from the social advocacy nonprofit People's Action Institute, was horrified by the insensitive comments. Still, he explained that anger with the industry was hidden, and the incident revealed it.

Other online users were upset about the amount of resources the New York police invested in solving the crime, compared to other similar murders. "I guess some lives are worth more" a reader commented on a New York Times article.

Mangione’s defense attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, used that rhetoric to question whether her client would receive a fair trial and accused the state of treating the case in an “utterly political” way.

Ms. Friedman expressly referred to Mangione’s perp walk, surrounded by heavy security and accompanied by Mayor Eric Adams. She also complained about the conflicting charges between New York and Pennsylvania.