Suspects in fires, attacks cite admiration for UnitedHealthcare CEO killing suspect Luigi Mangione

Jonathan Rinderknecht, the 30-year-old former Uber driver arrested in October 2025 for starting California's deadly Palisades Fire, showed admiration for Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Rinderknecht faces charges of destruction of property by means of fire for the blaze that began on New Year's Day 2025. It burned 23,448 acres and 6,833 structures over more than a month, caused $35 billion to $45 billion in damage and killed 12 people.

Prosecutors detailed Rinderknecht's fixation on Mangione in a court memo filed last week. "In the months leading up to the fire, he had become increasingly angry with his life and society at large," they wrote. "For example, in the weeks and hours leading up to the fire, defendant fixated on Luigi Mangione, who allegedly murdered the UnitedHealthcare CEO in New York City on December 4, 2024."

Federal prosecutors said Rinderknecht searched terms including "free LuigiMangione," "lets take down all the billionaires" and "reddit lets kill all the billionaires." He harbored resentment for the rich.

Many of Rinderknecht's Uber passengers on December 31, 2024, and January 1, 2025, described him as angry and intense. He drove erratically and ranted about being "pissed off at the world" along with Mangione, capitalism and vigilantism, according to the filing.

When investigators asked why someone might commit arson in Pacific Palisades, Rinderknecht replied it would stem from resentment of the rich enjoying their money while "we’re basically being enslaved by them." He compared such desperation to Mangione's alleged murder.

Daniel Moreno-Gama, 20, from Texas, traveled to San Francisco in mid-April for a planned attack on OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. He threw a Molotov cocktail at Altman's home, igniting an exterior gate, investigators said. Moreno-Gama then went to OpenAI headquarters, where surveillance video showed him throwing a chair at glass doors. He faces accusations of threatening to burn the building and kill everyone inside.

In January, Moreno-Gama suggested "Luigi’ing some tech CEOs" in an online exchange with producers of "The Last Invention" podcast, the Wall Street Journal reported. He later retracted the comments.

Chamel Abdulkarim, 20, from Highland, California, faces charges for setting fire to a 1.2 million-square-foot Kimberly-Clark distribution center where he worked on April 7. The blaze caused $500 million in damage to the paper products warehouse. Abdulkarim filmed himself starting the fire and complained about wages. "If you’re not going to pay us enough to [expletive] live… at least pay us enough not to do this," he said, per a Department of Justice affidavit.

Prosecutors said Abdulkarim bragged about the fire in texts and calls. In one, he referenced Mangione. "Luigi popped that mutherf----- ," he said, according to the federal complaint. "A lot of people are going to understand."

Abdulkarim faces federal arson charges for a building used in interstate and foreign commerce plus multiple state felonies.

Ryan English, who used the name Riley Jane English and she/her pronouns, approached a U.S. Capitol Police officer on January 27, 2025, and said, "I’d like to turn myself in." English claimed to carry two Molotov cocktails and two knives with plans to kill Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Court documents said English traveled from Massachusetts to Washington, D.C., also targeting War Secretary Pete Hegseth, whom English called a "Nazi," and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La. English wanted to burn the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank two blocks from the White House.

Prosecutors cited English's terminal illness and reference to Mangione as reasons to hold English without bond. "The Defendant specifically mentioned being influenced by Luigi Mangione, the individual accused in the recent murder of United Health Group CEO Brian Thompson," the documents said. English called the violence "fate" or "destiny" and noted having only months to live. English pleaded guilty in March.

Shane Tamura attacked NFL headquarters in New York City last July, killing four people. On July 28, 2025, he brought an assault rifle to a Manhattan office building near where Mangione allegedly killed Thompson. Tamura shot and killed four, including an off-duty police officer, a financial services executive and a security guard. He injured others, including an NFL employee. Like Mangione, Tamura left evidence blaming the NFL and football for chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Prosecutors compared Tamura's actions to Mangione's. Some members of the public called Tamura's acts a continuation of Mangione's philosophy.

Mangione's attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifino, said her client does not support political violence. "As we have stated before in multiple public court filings, Mr. Mangione does not support violent actions and does not condone past or future political violence," she told Fox News Digital. She called attempts to link Mangione to unrelated acts irresponsible, dangerous and prejudicial.