On Tuesday, December 17, New York prosecutors charged Luigi Mangione with first-degree murder for the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He is also charged with second-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism. If convicted on all counts, Mangione faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. Despite the severity of the charges, it is unlikely that being branded a “terrorist” will do much to diminish Mangione’s surging internet fame. Since photos of the suspect were released on December 5, revealing him to be a conventionally attractive young male, social media has romanticized the killer and sought to absolve him of the crimes for which he is accused. 

Indeed, while the manhunt for Thompson’s murderer was still underway, young men competed in a suspect lookalike contest in Washington Square Park. Since then, social media accounts have gushed over Mangione’s heroism, intelligence, and looks. As of today, dozens of fan accounts (such as this one) repost Mangione’s photos and mugshots and even recommend colognes and playlists that they think might be to his liking. In the leadup to the holidays, users have even shared videos of framed ornaments of Mangione adorning their Christmas trees. Recent comments urge Mangione to “stay strong,” and others, in reaction to Tuesday’s indictment, poignantly remark, “BS Terrorism? He’s a hero.” The most recent polling indicates that 41% of voters aged 18-29 find Mangione’s actions acceptable and the attitude on social media does little to disprove this astonishing estimate.

However, even before Tuesday’s charges were brought before Mangione, his case and the public response had been steeped in the rhetoric of terrorism. To start, Mangione himself was familiar with––and approving of––Ted Kaczynski’s manifesto which he went so far as to publicly review on Goodreads. In response to the infamous lookalike contest, BBC described a “dark fandom” as coalescing around the killer. Forbes noted that Mangione has become a “social media folk hero.” For those familiar with the language of neo-fascist accelerationism and Terrorgram, the parallels are hair-raising. 

Most concerning, however, is the growing tendency to depict Mangione as a saint for his actions. In the past several days, Instagram users have filmed themselves donning Luigi Mangione saint shirts, lighting devotional candles emblazoned with his likeness, and painting religious icons of the accused killer. Designated small businesses specializing in the Luigi Mangione market have even popped up, promoting their St. Luigi candles that implore him to “protect us from corruption” which can be purchased for just $49.99 USD. More recent offerings include stickers of “St. Mangione” which feature Mangione’s likeness accompanied by three bullets reading “deny,” “defend,” and “depose.”

Although these posts are easy to dismiss as dark humor or opportunism, we should not ignore their implications. In the neo-fascist accelerationist ecosystem, “Saints Culture” performs the same process of subcultural consecration that the Luigi Mangione fandom appears to be adopting. In the accelerationist context, Saints Culture venerates mass killers such as Brenton Tarrant for the purpose of inspiring further attackers who are motivated by the prospect of fame and deification should they succeed. Users celebrate the anniversaries of notable attacks, marking them on Saints Calendars and forward Saints Cards to celebrate “days of action.” These images, often in the style of a Pokemon card, are accompanied by links to perpetrators’ manifestos and relevant further reading. Perhaps providing an eerie overlap with Mangione, accelerationists herald Ted Kaczynski––in addition to Brenton Tarrant and Anders Breivik––as one of their “holy trinity.”

For neo-fascist accelerationists, Saints Culture functions as a transformative subcultural narrative device that imbues racially motivated acts of violence with divine significance. Thus, perpetrators are absolved of any wrongdoing and are instead praised as examples of “men of action.” Furthermore, Saints Culture easily perpetuates latent narratives of “good” versus “evil,” “just” versus “unjust,” and “us” versus “them.” “Murderers” become “martyrs” and “saints,” and their victims are reduced to merely the perpetrators’ means for lionization. Indeed, United Healthcare’s Facebook post in Brian Thompson’s honor received over 70,000 laugh reactions. Essentially, Thompson has receded into the background of the media coverage of his own murder.

This is not at all to say that Mangione is a neo-fascist accelerationist. There is little evidence to suggest that Mangione sought to bring about the collapse of the Western world order and be venerated as a Saint for his actions. What is apparent, however, is that an identical process of subcultural consecration is occurring in real-time on a much larger scale than neo-fascist accelerationists could ever hope to achieve. While popular opinion came down firmly against the atrocities committed by individuals such as Tarrant, Breivik, and McVeigh, the same cannot be said for Mangione. Given the success of Terrorgram’s Saints Culture in mobilizing individuals to violence, time will only tell if this narrative proves as potent in the mainstream.