Free Republic

The left’s glamorization of political violence begins as performance, but history shows how quickly chic nihilism can become something far darker. Brian Thompson’s shooter suspect in hostel CCTV. (security camera, Wikimedia Commons)On the morning of May 18, 2026, on the granite steps of Manhattan’s Criminal Courts Building, three chic women arranged themselves like starlets at Cannes. The heels. The practiced hip-thrust. Weight cocked to one side, chin down, eyes up. With enough mascara between them to repaint Gracie Mansion. But the most revealing part, the part that showed the most skin, was the laminated press credential blessed by the office...

Three cheerleaders for Luigi Mangione have followed his trial and advocated for the 28-year-old accused of shooting United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson to death in December 2024. One of those people, 32-year-old Lena Weissbrot, is apparently the daughter of a CVS Healthcare executive, according to a New York Post report. Bloodthirsty Luigi Mangione fangirls unapologetically celebrate CEO’s assassination: ‘F—k Brian Thompson,’ ‘His children are better off without him’. Read today's cover here: https://t.co/WAbr1HDQiD pic.twitter.com/TtsBt751qM— New York Post (@nypost) May 19, 2026The NYPost reported: “Lena Weissbrot, a member of the twisted trio hopelessly devoted to the accused assassin of UnitedHealthcare CEO...

The media has an odd term for the sullen young women who have made a sexual fetish of pretty-boy killer Luigi Mangione. They’re called Luigi Fangirls. It evokes a frolic, young women skipping down the street, singing, holding hands. You know, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” But I much prefer another name, a more direct name: Witches. I’m told that witches are supposedly fictional, a phobia created by men, by the patriarchy, to impose our evil will upon women who cling to stories like “The Handmaid’s Tale,” to justify generations of their cruelties upon boys, from wholesale abortion to “gender...

Weissbrot is one of three supporters of Mangione who are referred to online as “Mangionistas." One of the fangirl “journalists” who has publicly supported Luigi Mangione is reportedly the daughter of a senior healthcare executive at CVS Health. Lena Weissbrot is the daughter of Reina Natero, a longtime pharmaceutical industry executive who oversees prescription drug insurance coverage rules at CVS Health. Natero has worked in the industry for more than two decades. Weissbrot is one of three supporters of Mangione who are referred to online as “Mangionistas.” They recently gained attention during Mangione’s pre-trial hearings after receiving New York City...

Faith FactsLuigi Mangione, accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has attracted disturbing fan worship from Americans celebrating violenceCultural critics warn of an emerging ‘assassination culture’ where murder is glamorized and political violence is normalizedThe breakdown of shared moral values rooted in the sanctity of life threatens the foundation of civil society and democratic governanceThe troubling case of Luigi Mangione has exposed a dark undercurrent in American culture that should alarm every person of faith and conscience. Accused of the cold-blooded murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan, Mangione has inexplicably become a folk hero to a disturbing number...

Faith FactsLuigi Mangione, accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has attracted disturbing fan worship from Americans celebrating violenceCultural critics warn of an emerging ‘assassination culture’ where murder is glamorized and political violence is normalizedThe breakdown of shared moral values rooted in the sanctity of life threatens the foundation of civil society and democratic governanceThe troubling case of Luigi Mangione has exposed a dark undercurrent in American culture that should alarm every person of faith and conscience. Accused of the cold-blooded murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan, Mangione has inexplicably become a folk hero to a disturbing number...

As New York mayoral figure Zohran Mamdani unveiled plans for taxpayer-funded government grocery stores… Old videos suddenly resurfaced online 👇 Now? The backlash is spiralling FAST. In this video, we break down: 👉 Mamdani announcing government-run grocery stores across NYC 👉 The resurfaced speech invoking Islamic migration narratives 👉 Why critics say the videos are causing massive concern online 👉 The activists filmed praising violence and defending the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson 👉 Questions surrounding who was granted press access to official events 👉 Why conservatives say this reflects a much deeper ideological shift 👉 The growing national...

A shelter-in-place has been issued for a wide swath of South Austin, bordered by south Slaughter Lane, east McKinney Falls Parkway, north Ben White Boulevard and west Escarpment Boulevard. This comes as Austin police are searching for a person who is believed to be responsible for multiple shootings since Saturday. At least two people have been injured. It is not clear what the motive of the shootings are. The shootings have taken place in various locations, including at two fire stations, and appear to be random. As of 2:15 p.m., police believe the suspect to be a male in his...

Three days before a 31-year-old male stormed the White House Correspondents Dinner, hoping to assassinate President Donald Trump and members of his cabinet, the New York Times published a 35-minute video titled: “‘The Rich Don’t Play by the Rules. So Why Should I?’ Why petty theft might be the new political protest.” In it, a Times editor interviewed two other members of the media aristocracy about the moral code shared by a large swathe of young Americans. That code justifies theft—and even violence—when harnessed to a fashionably left-wing cause. None of the participants—podcasting celebrity Hasan Piker, New Yorker writer Jia...

“The alleged pyromaniac accused of igniting the deadly Palisades Fire – Los Angeles’ most destructive wildfire – chipped in a tiny donation to Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, records show. Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, shelled out $2 to hybrid PAC ActBlue on two separate occasions just days apart in 2020 – $1 on Sept. 4 and another buck on Sept. 11, according to the Federal Election Commission. Records also show the alleged arsonist — born in France — was registered to vote in Florida, though he never declared a political party.”

Authorities in California charged a 29-year-old man with "malicious destruction' for allegedly starting a deadly fire that erupted into the most destructive blaze in Los Angeles history and destroyed much of the wealthy Pacific Palisades neighborhood, officials announced Wednesday. Federal law enforcement officials accused 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht of lighting a fire on New Year’s Day that was initially extinguished by fire crews, but continued to smolder underground before reigniting during high winds, acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said during a news conference. Rinderknecht was arrested Tuesday in Florida, where he moved after the fire, and is due to appear in...

Authorities have arrested a 29-year-old Uber driver in connection to the investigation into the deadly January Palisades Fire. Jonathan Rinderknecht, of Melbourne, Florida, was arrested Tuesday near his home on suspicion of destruction of property by means of fire. If convicted as charged, Rinderknecht faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years in federal prison. "He is charged with starting a fire on Jan. 1," Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said. "It did take a week to reignite, but he is charged with starting the Palisades Fire." The criminal complaint covers the damages and death...

The deranged firebug accused of igniting the devastating Palisades Fire had become “fixated” with Luigi Mangione in the lead up to the deadly blaze — and then allegedly suggested the inferno was started out of “resentment of the rich,” prosecutors said. Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, was obsessed with the accused healthcare CEO killer and had routinely searched “free Luigi Mangione” and “lets take down all the billionaires” online, court documents show. In the weeks and hours before allegedly sparking the blaze that triggered the catastrophic Palisades fire, Rinderknecht — who worked as an Uber driver — ranted to customers about Mangione’s...

Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, chimed in on the Saturday shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. He released a statement through his attorneys condemning political violence in the wake of the shooting, according to The Hill. Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, issued a statement this week decrying political violence in the wake of an assassination attempt on President Trump. Cole Tomas Allen, 31, is accused of trying to assassinate Trump and members of his Cabinet at the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner Saturday. The plot...

In a situation that has become all too familiar, a leftist has lost her job at a healthcare company for making a video in which she sarcastically claims to be sad that the WHCD shooter missed his target, President Trump. The irony here is that this woman was the social media manager. You would think a person in this position would know better. And to add to the irony, she worked for United Health Care, the same company that lost its CEO to alleged shooter Luigi Mangione. It’s a shame that this keeps happening but people on the left just...

In a shift from the past, more accused violent assailants have striking academic records. ‘We’re seeing a new breed of individual.’ An Ivy League grad. An aspiring engineer who scored 1530 out of 1600 on his SAT. A 4.0 high-school student with a prestigious college scholarship. And now, a Caltech grad.

An alleged California arsonist who filmed himself setting a warehouse full of people on fire compared himself to Luigi Mangione after starting the blaze, according to court documents. Chamel Abdulkarim, 29, allegedly posted a first-person video on Instagram on April 7 igniting multiple pallets at the Kimberly-Clark warehouse in Ontario, per a criminal complaint filed Thursday in the US District Court for the Central District of California viewed by the Daily Mail. 'If you're not going to pay us enough to ******* live or afford to live, at least pay us enough not to do this ****,' Abdulkarim said, according...

With so much going on in the world, it's easy to forget that it's only been a little over a year since Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was killed. He was allegedly gunned down by Luigi Mangione, who is awaiting trial on both state and federal charges in conjunction with Thompson's murder. In his alleged manifesto, Mangione wrote "these parasites had it coming" and "I do apologize for any strife and trauma, but it had to be done." Several prominent Democrats, including Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, defended Mangione's actions, essentially saying violence is wrong, but UnitedHealthcare...

Luigi: The Musical will premiere in New York City this summer, mere miles from where Luigi Mangione allegedly assassinated the father of two children. The show is already a hit in far-left San Francisco. Prosecutors say Mangione gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in cold blood in December of 2024. The motive was to make a statement about the American health care system. “These parasites had it coming,” Mangione reportedly wrote on a note found on him during a police search. The political left immediately embraced the accused murderer as one of their own. CNN’s Kaitlan Collins promoted Mangione’s defense...

A New York federal judge on Friday dismissed murder and weapons charges against alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangione, a major blow to prosecutors that means Mangione no longer faces a possible death penalty if convicted. Mangione, 27, previously pleaded not guilty to murder, weapons and stalking charges for allegedly gunning down the CEO of UnitedHealthcare in Midtown Manhattan in 2024. Public officials condemned the shocking killing, but Mangione became a folk hero of sorts to some Americans who decry steep healthcare costs and insurance practices. U.S. District Judge Margaret M. Garnett in Manhattan said she dismissed the murder and...