Luigi Mangione’s legal defense fundraising page received a flood of donations Tuesday amid unfounded speculation the accused UnitedHealthcare CEO killer had a fetish for making sex tapes.
Mangione, 26, is fighting both federal and state charges tied to allegations he gunned down healthcare honcho Brian Thompson on Dec. 4 outside of a Midtown Manhattan hotel.
The GiveSendGo fund — which set a goal to collect $1 million in donations for Mangione — was up to $647,585 Wednesday afternoon with a fresh wave of small donations from his supporters who said an unverified report by RadarOnline about how he likes to film himself having sex with women were mere “rumors” part of a “smear campaign” against him.
“No one cares about sex tapes, we care about professional integrity and the right to a fair trial,” one user wrote in the caption of their $5 contribution. “Luigi will always have our support.”
Another person gave $5 to the fund saying the claims are “sexual harassment.”
“Imagine if you were locked up and couldn’t stop such a rumor about yourself,” the person added.
One person contributed $10, telling Luigi to “stay strong” and asking the public not to “fall in the trap of the tapes.”
“Companies and corporations want to smear, to tarnish Luigi, we must be with him,” the donor said. “Do not let Luigi’s morale get down!”
“Tapes? Don’t care. Miranda Rights? Care AF,” another $5-donor said.
Another user donated $5, simply saying, “Just because I heard there were some tapes out there x.”
The fund was launched in December after Mangione was arrested following a five-day manhunt following Thompson’s murder.
Mangione was allegedly found with a handwritten manifesto-type notebook that raged against the health care industry. Mangione’s apparent cause — and the fact that insurance industry leaders allegedly leaned on the feds to bring a case against him — have sparked a cult-following from people disenchanted by the American health care system and corporate greed.
Last month, the fundraiser page received its largest single donation of $30,000 by an anonymous donor who cited Mayor Adams’ “politicized” bribery and corruption case as the reason they are skeptical of the charges against Mangione, which could carry life imprisonment.
The two cases are not related.