There have been two high-profile assassinations over the past 10 months, highlighting a disturbing trend in the public reaction to these crimes. Large numbers of people publicly celebrated both deaths and glorified the murderers. Let’s take a look.
The Assassination of Brian Thompson
Brian Thompson was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of United Healthcare. An assailant shot and killed Thompson in New York City on December 4, 2024, as he left his hotel. Thompson was in New York City to attend his company’s annual investment conference. As Brian Thompson prepared to exit the hotel, Luigi Mangione waited nearby and fatally shot him. Law enforcement authorities arrested Mangione five days after the crime in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He stated that his hatred for the healthcare industry was a primary reason: “The target is insurance. It checks every box.”
Mangione had planned this attack and had a silencer-equipped gun. He had no prior association with UnitedHealthcare, so his rationale for targeting Thompson remains uncertain. As a result, investigators have turned to symbolic clues and personal writings to piece together his motive.
The disturbing aspect of this crime was that many people publicly celebrated Mangione for standing up to “healthcare.” Based on an Emerson College poll, a notable portion of young voters—particularly those aged 18 to 29—subsequently expressed sympathy or approval for Mangione’s actions. This response, which surfaced in the days following the incident, underscored a generational divide in how the event was perceived. Soon afterward, Mangione-themed merchandise began circulating on social media, and supporters—dressed in green as a nod to Luigi from Super Mario Bros—gathered to cheer his defense team.
The Assassination of Charlie Kirk
Charlie Kirk was the Chief Executive Officer of Turning Point USA, a conservative nonprofit organization founded in 2012 by Charlie Kirk and Bill Montgomery. Its mission is to educate, train, and mobilize students to promote principles like free markets, limited government, and traditional American values. Kirk promoted open and direct debate on college and university campuses with his “Prove Me Wrong” campaigns. The suspect, Tyler Robinson, shot and killed Kirk from a rooftop some 200 yards away as Kirk was answering a question. Robinson believed that “some hate can’t be negotiated out,” so he killed Kirk to act on that conviction.
Some attendees cheered as soon as Kirk was shot. Social media erupted with people celebrating his death, saying he deserved to die because he “spewed hate.” The amount of vitriol on social media was despicable. Many people posted videos mocking his death and celebrating it. Unfortunately for many of these individuals, their employers were made aware of the videos and responded by terminating their employment. Many on the left claimed this was a violation of free speech, when the reality is that free speech will sometimes have consequences.
Common Threads Between the Two Assassinations
There are several common themes across these two assassinations:
- Both chose high-profile individuals whose public roles symbolized broader institutions—healthcare and conservative politics.
- While Mangione’s motive was framed as anti-corporate, Robinson’s was politically and socially charged, rooted in opposition to Kirk’s views.
- Both crimes involved not just violence, but symbolic messaging intended to make a statement beyond the act itself.
- Both assassins’ writings reveal internal justification and a desire to be understood—or remembered—for their actions.
The Catholic View
Both crimes took a human life. You may not like what the two victims stood for, but that doesn’t give anyone the right to kill them. Free speech is just that, and when it turns into violence, we are showing the world the moral character of our society. To make matters even worse, justifying and celebrating the deaths removes all dignity from the victims’ lives as well as from those who supported the murderers. This says much about where we are as a people and a society.
We have made people disposable. This started with abortion and has grown to other parts of society. Capital punishment and “assisted suicide” are now a regular part of the public discourse. The Catholic Church teaches that every human life is sacred, from conception to natural death. This is not negotiable. Human dignity is not earned or conditional; it is inherent, because each person is made in the image of God. This is the basis of all social teachings of the Church. Somehow, our society has lost respect for human life, and we must get it back. Brian Thompson’s life mattered. Charlie Kirk’s life mattered. We all matter. Please pray for us as a people to take the dignity of human life to heart. Let’s have our response to God’s loving care be that same loving care to those around us, whether we agree with them or not.
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Peace
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