Fans are calling on Kim Kardashian to 'help' Luigi Mangione, who is suspected in the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, following his arrest.
Thompson, 50, was fatally shot on Wednesday, December 4 in the middle of New York City in what police determined was a targeted attack on the healthcare boss.
A manhunt was launched and on Monday, Mangione — a 26-year-old Ivy League-educated 'anti-capitalist' — was apprehended at a McDonald's location in Pennsylvania after an employee recognized him and reported him to authorities.
As he remains jailed on murder charges, Mangione has garnered a passionate cult following online, with many praising him for 'sacrificing himself for society.'
And now fans of Kardashian — who has been studying to become a lawyer since 2018 — are begging her to intervene and aid Mangione in his legal fight.
The reality TV star, 44, is heavily involved in criminal justice reform and has helped free over a dozen people from prison since 2019, as per CBS News.
Fans are calling on Kim Kardashian to 'help' Luigi Mangione, who is suspected in the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson , following his arrest; Kim seen in November
Mangione — a 26-year-old Ivy League-educated 'anti-capitalist' — was apprehended at a McDonald's location in Pennsylvania on Monday after an employee recognized him and reported him to authorities; seen on December 10 at Blair County Courthouse
Poking fun at one of Kardashian's most infamous quotes, one fan reposted Mangione's mugshot to X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday with the caption: 'Get your a** up and work @kimkardashian'
'Somebody please contact kim kardashian and tell her to protect luigi mangione, he cannot go to jail,' another tweeted.
Many hoped Kardashian would 'represent' Mangione in court — despite her not being a licensed attorney — while others jokingly asked her to put the hunky suspect in the next campaign for her clothing brand, SKIMS.
One person on X wrote: '[Mangione is] lowkey the modern day prison bae kim kardashian is looking at ways to set him free as we speak!! the inevitable skims campaign will break the internet…'
While many felt it was possible that Kardashian could step up to help Mangione, others felt that it was unlikely that a billionaire, like herself, would go against 'corrupt rich people.'
Kim has been working toward a law degree since 2018 in memory of her late dad Robert Kardashian - who was a high-profile attorney but died in 2003 at the age of 59.
The mother-of-four passed California's baby bar examination in 2021 after four attempts. She plans to take the California bar exam in 2025.
Despite not yet being a lawyer, Kim already has some incredible legal success under her belt.
As he waits extradition to NYC, Mangione has garnered a passionate cult following online, with many praising him for 'sacrificing himself for society'; seen on December 9
And now fans of Kardashian — who has been studying to become a lawyer since 2018 — are begging her to intervene and aid Mangione in his legal fight; Kardashian seen at the White House in April 2024
The Hulu star helped to successfully campaign for the clemency of Alice Marie Johnson, who was sentenced to life in prison for a nonviolent offense.
She's also been consistently advocating for inmates, including Erik and Lyle Menendez, who will soon face resentencing after spending nearly 30 years in prison for the killing their parents in 1989.
Most recently, Kim visited VP Kamala Harris at the White House in April to champion criminal justice reform.
Kardashian has not made any comments regarding Mangione's recent arrest or calls for her to 'help' him.
The 26-year-old was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania on Monday after a McDonald's customer recognized him and notified an employee, authorities said. Police in Altoona, about 233 miles (375 kilometers) west of New York City, were soon summoned.
They arrived to find Mangione sitting at a table in the back of the restaurant, wearing a blue medical mask and looking at a laptop, according to a Pennsylvania police criminal complaint.
He initially gave them a fake ID, but when an officer asked Mangione whether he'd been to New York recently, he 'became quiet and started to shake,' the complaint says.
When he pulled his mask down at officers' request, 'we knew that was our guy,' rookie Officer Tyler Frye said at a news conference in Hollidaysburg.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a Manhattan news conference that Mangione was carrying a gun like the one used to kill Thompson and the same fake ID the shooter had used to check into a New York hostel, along with a passport and other fraudulent IDs.
From surveillance video, New York investigators gathered that the shooter fled by bike into Central Park, emerged, then took a taxi to a northern Manhattan bus terminal.
Once in Pennsylvania, he went from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, 'trying to stay low-profile' by avoiding cameras, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said.
NYPD's chief of detectives Joseph Kenny said Mangione had a three-page, handwritten document that shows 'ill will toward corporate America.'
A law enforcement official who wasn't authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity said the document included a line in which Mangione claimed to have acted alone.
'To the Feds, I'll keep this short, because I do respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn't working with anyone,' the document said, according to the official.
It also had a line that said, 'I do apologize for any strife or traumas but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming.'
At the scene of the killing, cops found bullets and bullet casings with the words 'delay', 'deny' and 'depose' scrawled on them. The words mimic a phrase used to criticize the insurance industry.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, was fatally shot on Wednesday, December 4 in the middle of New York City in what police determined was a targeted attack on the healthcare boss.
The reality TV star, 44, is heavily involved in criminal justice reform and has helped free over a dozen people from prison since 2019
A grandson of a wealthy, self-made real estate developer and philanthropist, Mangione is a cousin of a current Maryland state legislator. Mangione was valedictorian at his elite Baltimore prep school, where his 2016 graduation speech lauded his classmates' 'incredible courage to explore the unknown and try new things.'
Mangione graduated top of his class from the elite Gilman School in Baltimore, and even delivered the commencement speech at his 2016 graduation, according to video of the ceremony.
'He seemed like a smart kid, he was always doing the right thing, it seemed like,' a former classmate, who was shocked by the arrest, told Fox News Digital, adding: '[He] wasn't crazy.'
He went on to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science in 2020 from the University of Pennsylvania, a spokesperson said.
'Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi's arrest,' Mangione's family said in a statement posted on social media late on Monday by his cousin, Maryland lawmaker Nino Mangione.
'We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved.'