A shocking 41% of voters under age 30 consider the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson acceptable, according to a new poll from Emerson College Polling.
The poll found that voters in that demographic were nearly evenly split on the matter, with 40% saying it was unacceptable. Nineteen percent of those under 30 were neutral.
Shortly after Thompson was fatally shot on Dec. 4 in New York City, a disturbing trend emerged on social media platforms in which people celebrated the CEO's death and lauded the actions of his killer.
The suspect, Luigi Mangione, 26, was arrested last week at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after a five-day manhunt and has been charged in Thompson's murder.
According to the survey, 68% of all respondents found the actions of Thompson's killer unacceptable, while 17% said the actions were acceptable, and 16% were unsure.
Among those aged 18-29, however, 24% found the shooter's actions "somewhat acceptable," and 17% found them "completely acceptable."
Spencer Kimball, the executive director of Emerson College Polling, pointed to the 22% of Democrats who said they found the killing acceptable, compared to 16% of independents and 12% of Republicans who said the same. He said the findings underscore "shifting societal attitudes among the youngest electorate and within party lines."
Mangione is scheduled to appear in Pennsylvania court on Thursday morning for a preliminary hearing on gun charges in the Keystone State. Meanwhile, a separate proceeding is slated for Dec. 30 over New York's attempt to extradite Mangione to face a murder charge in Thompson's Manhattan killing.
In a Tuesday afternoon press conference, New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch addressed the "shocking and appalling celebration of cold-blooded murder" that has occurred online in the nearly two weeks since Thompson was gunned down on a city sidewalk.
"Social media has erupted with praise for this cowardly attack," Tisch said. "People ghoulishly plastered posters threatening other CEOs, with an X over Mr. Thompson's picture, as though he was some sort of a sick trophy. Yesterday, the New York Post reported that some extreme activists were circulating a deck of cards with other most wanted CEOs to be targeted for assassination. These are the threats of a lawless, violent mob who would trade in their own vigilantism for the rule of law that protects us all.
"Let me say this plainly: There is no heroism in what Mangione did," she continued. "This was a senseless act of violence. It was a cold and calculated crime that stole a life and put New Yorkers at risk. We don't celebrate murders, and we don't lionize the killing of anyone. And any attempt to rationalize this is vile, reckless, and offensive to our deeply-held principles of justice."
The poll was conducted Dec. 11-13 and surveyed 1,000 registered U.S. voters. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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