Luigi Mangione’s nervous tic revealed when he shared a notebook with a plan to ‘wack’ the CEO

Social media users are speculating that suspected assassin Luigi Mangione attempted to send secret messages to the public while he was being extradited to New York from Pennsylvania.

Mangione landed in Manhattan on Thursday to stand trial for the murder of UnitedHeathcare CEO Brian Thompson, and throughout the day he repeatedly thrust his tongue against his check.

Although it was likely a nervous tic, the gesture sparked claims online that Mangione was trying to send some sort of message to his supporters, as social media platforms continue to be flooded with bizarre praise for the alleged killer.

One X user wrote: “Luigi pushing his tongue against his cheek means ‘contempt’! Which means LACK OF RESPECT! He sent a signal to EVERYONE! »

Another person on the chat site called datalounge agreed, saying Mangione was “showing his tongue on the top of his cheek.” Wisdom tooth pain or secret terrorist signal?

According to Vocabulary.com, the expression “ironic” describes an “exaggerated facial feature intended to express contempt or irony.”

The 26-year-old was taken straight to the airport to board a private plane to New York. He was transferred to a helicopter and flown to Manhattan to face murder charges after waiving extradition.

The federal indictment against Mangione includes more details about notes police say they found in his notebook when he was arrested last week.

Mangione wrote repeatedly about his disdain for the health insurance industry and its executives, according to prosecutors. In an August 15 article, Mangione reportedly wrote that “the details are finally falling into place” and that “the target is insurance” because “it checks every box.”

On October 22, Mangione allegedly wrote: “1.5 months. This investor conference is a real godsend… and – above all – the message becomes obvious. In the same article, Mangione describes his intention to “wack” the CEO of an insurance company.

Mangione was received at a downtown New York helipad by dozens of armed NYPD officers as well as Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

He was charged with Thompson’s Dec. 4 murder in midtown Manhattan. Around 700 people followed the flight path online.

Mangione was seen escorted onto the plane at a Martinsburg airport by several NYPD officers shortly after leaving the Pennsylvania courthouse.

Fans holding signs gathered to see the alleged killer whose good looks made him a pin-up for some internet users, outraged many others appalled by Mangione’s alleged crimes.

The alleged killer waived a preliminary hearing on forgery and firearms charges in Pennsylvania in exchange for the prosecutor’s submission of a 20-page investigative report from the Altoona Police Department. Mangione also agreed to be extradited to New York.

Earlier this week, he was charged with murder as an act of terrorism, under a New York state law that allows harsher penalties when a killing is intended to terrify civilians or influence the government.

NYPD officers were in court for the extradition hearing, ready to take the suspect back to New York. CNN reported that Mangione would be flown to the city later Thursday.

Mangione, who also appeared to have had a haircut since his last public appearance, left the Pennsylvania courthouse in a black SUV with New York license plates shortly after 10 a.m. ET.

Dozens of protesters showed up to court to support Mangione in a strange continuation of a public fixation with the alleged killer. They held signs with messages such as “Health Insurance Practices Terrorize People!” and “Death by denial is murder!” »

At least two of them were dressed as Luigi from the Super Mario Bros. video game.

Several TikTok users shared on the platform that they had driven up to six hours to attend the court appearance.

Some reportedly came from as far away as California to support the alleged killer.

Mangione could appear in state court for arraignment Thursday afternoon or Friday.

In a court filing last week, Mangione’s defense attorney, Tom Dickey, argued that prosecutors had not shown there was enough evidence to detain Mangione, that he was in New York when Thompson was killed or was a fugitive from justice.

Mangione, of Towson, Maryland, was arrested Dec. 9 when police were called to a McDonald’s restaurant in a shopping area of ​​Altoona, Pennsylvania, after it was reported that he matched the description of Thompson’s murderer.

Thompson was shot to death in the street as he walked to the hotel where his Minnesota-based company was holding an investor conference.

The shooting was captured on security video, but the suspect eluded police before Mangione was captured about 270 miles (446 kilometers) west of New York.

Authorities say Mangione carried the gun used to kill Thompson, a passport, a fake ID and about $10,000 U.S. and foreign dollars.

His attorney, Dickey, questioned the evidence for the forgery charge and the legal basis for a gun charge. He previously indicated that Mangione would oppose extradition to New York while he was being held in a Pennsylvania state prison.

Mangione, an Ivy League computer science graduate from a prominent family, carried a handwritten letter calling health insurance companies “parasites” and complaining about corporate greed, according to a law enforcement bulletin obtained by the Associated Press last week.

Mangione had an outburst last week as he entered court, yelling at reporters for being “completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people and their lived experience!”

The outburst happened after someone asked the Ivy League graduate if he “did it,” referring to the murder of Brian Thompson, according to the Wall Street Journal.

He also shouted “this is completely unfair and an insult to the American people” as he struggled with police officers while shackled and in prison garb.