One of the internet’s most popular crowdfunding platforms, GoFundMe, is removing any campaign in support of Luigi Mangione, the man alleged to have shot and killed the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, while a Christian alternative is promoting one such fundraiser on its front page.
GoFundMe is refunding donors who contributed to the campaigns. NBC News found three fundraisers that were posted to the platform and later removed.
“GoFundMe’s Terms of Service prohibit fundraisers for the legal defense of violent crimes,” a representative for the platform said in a statement.
But GiveSendGo, which started in 2015, has hosted a legal defense campaign for Mangione. As of Friday morning, it had raised over $75,000.
A swell of online praise for the suspect has persisted in recent days, even after many platforms removed his social accounts and sought to rein in content that violated rules around violent acts. Reddit removed Mangione’s account and has also reportedly taken down posts linking to his manifesto. Meta removed profiles connected to Mangione, too.
But some other online platforms have taken little action or have explicitly enshrined accounts related to Mangione, an approach that has grown increasingly common in recent years, particularly among tech companies that favor a more hands-off policy to moderation. After briefly removing Mangione’s account, X reinstated it and verified it, a designation meant to confirm its authenticity (X rolled out a change in April that verified any account that reaches 2,500 verified subscriber followers). Mangione’s account was previously unverified.
GiveSendGo stands firmly behind its decision to host content related to Mangione.
“We believe every person is entitled to due process in a court of law — not in the court of public opinion,” Alex Shipley, GiveSendGo’s communications director, said in a statement. “To be absolutely clear, we do not support or condone vigilante justice. However, people have a constitutional right to a strong legal defense, and access to that defense should not be reserved only for the wealthy or those who fit a particular narrative. Our role is to give individuals and their communities the opportunity to fundraise for that defense, because true justice is served when everyone has equal access to a fair trial — regardless of the verdict.”
GiveSendGo prominently markets itself as a Christian crowdfunding platform and has gained a reputation for hosting campaigns that other fundraising websites won’t. The platform has attracted controversy for hosting far-right fundraising campaigns, including those in support of Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse’s legal defense, the 2022 anti-vaccine Canadian trucker convoy and defendants being prosecuted for allegedly participating in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
GiveSendGo’s CEO Jacob Wells said in a post on X that the Mangione fundraiser is proof that the platform is more than its reputation.
“We have been dragged through the media as far right extremists, but what can they say now after allowing a legal defense fund for Luigi Mangione? Definitely not a far right figure, actually just the opposite,” Wells wrote.
Much support for Mangione has come from progressive critics of the health care industry, even when Mangione appears to have a more nuanced identity. He followed and shared the views of right-leaning authors and podcasters, shared “anti-woke” posts, and suggested that modern society was failing in part due to low birth rates, a political gender divide and compulsive social media use.
The GiveSendGo fundraiser, which has been organized by a group called the December 4th Legal Committee, has accumulated funds through thousands of anonymous donors. Messages of support and personal anecdotes accompanied many of the users’ donations, some of which call Mangione a “hero.”
Sam Beard, a spokesperson for the December 4th Legal Committee, told NBC News, “We are a group of 15 volunteers, spread across the US who were moved by Luigi’s story and the groundswell of popular support for his actions. Some of us are people who experience the pain and brutality of for-profit healthcare daily, and others of us are experienced providing support to people facing trial.”
The campaign has said that it will send all proceeds directly to Mangione or be used to help defend other American political prisoners if he chooses not to accept the funds.
While the group says it has not been in contact with Mangione or his lawyer, it says they have sent Mangione a letter describing the existence of the fund along with messages of support from donors who contributed to the campaign.
In a CNN interview Thursday, however, Mangione’s attorney said he most likely wouldn’t accept unsolicited offers of funding.
But Beard said the funds could be useful.
“It is possible that Luigi will have other lawyers in the coming weeks and months. We have sent Luigi a letter describing the fund and sharing message from donors. We will wait to hear from him directly to see if he will accept them,” Beard said in an email.
