‘Deny Defend Depose’ Banner Hung Over I-83 In Baltimore: Mangione Case

BALTIMORE, MD — A sign with the words "Deny Defend Depose" appeared over Interstate 83 in Baltimore on Tuesday, according to multiple reports.

The message is a reference to the case involving Maryland native Luigi Mangione, who is accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel last week. "Deny,” "defend” and “depose” were words found written on the ammunition used to kill Thompson, authorities said.

According to photos taken by Baltimore Sun and Baltimore Banner photographers, the words "HEALTH CARE 4 ALL" were also emblazoned on the sign over I-83.

Mangione, a Towson native and the grandson of a wealthy real estate developer, graduated at the top of his class in 2016 at Gilman School, an elite all-boys private school in Baltimore’s Roland Park neighborhood.

The Mangione family owns and operates Turf Valley in Ellicott City and Hayfields Country Club in Baltimore County, WBAL reported. Mangione family businesses also include the Lorien nursing homes and radio station WCBM-AM, The Baltimore Banner said.

Mangione, 26, was arrested Monday in Altoona, Pennsylvania on five weapons and forgery charges. Late Monday night, Manhattan prosecutors filed murder and other charges against Mangione, according to an online court docket. He remains jailed in Pennsylvania.

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A law enforcement bulletin obtained by The Associated Press said that at the time of his arrest, Mangione was carrying a handwritten document expressing anger with what he called “parasitic” health insurance companies and a disdain for corporate greed and power.

He wrote that the United States has the most expensive healthcare system in the world and that profits of major corporations continue to rise while “our life expectancy” does not, according to the bulletin.

He appeared to view the targeted killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO as a symbolic takedown, asserting in his note that he is the “first to face it with such brutal honesty,” the bulletin said.

Thompson's death has since sparked widespread discussions about corporate greed, unfairness in the medical insurance industry and even inspired folk-hero sentiment toward his accused killer.

“And in this house, Luigi Mangione is a hero. End of story,” stated one viral post with an image of TV’s Tony Soprano in a bathrobe, according to the Banner.

In an interview with the Banner, Joan Donovan, an assistant professor of journalism at Boston University, said the flood of support for Mangione is less about him or Thompson, but more about collective frustration with the U.S. healthcare system.

"What you’re seeing in people’s memes and discussions,” she said, “is how they rationalize this murder based on their own personal experiences of being denied care — usually when they needed it most.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.