“Defend, Deny, Depose”: Merchandise and one star reviews glorify alleged gunman

Vile merchandise glorifying the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson has flooded e-commerce platforms and review websites.

Merchandise glorifying the gunman accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson have flooded online stores, with so-called ‘fans’ of the alleged murderer rushing to support him.

Sellers on sites such as eBay, Etsy and Redbubble sellers are cashing in, listing T-shirts, stickers, mugs and posters bearing the words ‘Deny, Defend, Depose’ – the words written on the shell casings found at the scene of the shooting in New York City.

The words are believed to be a reference to a 2010 book, Delay, Defend, Deny: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.

The phrase is generally used by critics of the health insurance industry to describe tactics used by companies to avoid paying out claims.

Merchandise with the words “Defend, Depose, Deny” have flooded online retail marketplaces Picture: Etsy

The online fanfare around the phrase has been attributed to widespread dissatisfaction with the health insurance industry. Picture: Redbubble

Police arrested 26-year-old Luigi Mangione on Monday in connection with the shooting.

Mangione is currently fighting his extradition from Pennsylvania to New York City, where he will face murder charges for the killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO. He has been denied bail.

An outpouring of sympathy and online fanfare around the shooting and Mangione specifically, with many referencing his looks, has been attributed to broad dissatisfaction with the health insurance industry.

Some listed merchandise depict outlines of the shooter from footage originally released of the crime, other listings call for Magione’s release.

Luigi Mangione was arrested on Monday in connection with the shooting. Picture: Jeff Swensen/Getty Images/AFP

One sticker listing on Redbubble reads “In this house Lugi Mangione is a HERO, END OF STORY.”

As of Tuesday, Amazon is the only big online retailer to remove merchandise associated with the killing. Currently on eBay, hoodies bearing “Deny, Defend, Depose” and “Eat the rich” are still listed.

Similarly Etsy is still offering a range of merchandise glorifying the killing, with one seller advertising a patch imitating the shooter through the popular online “Chill Guy” meme.

The description reads: “When you want to reform the healthcare (industry) in America using violence, but you’re just a chill patch.”

A patch imitating the masked gunman responsible for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Picture: Etsy

It isn’t just online retailers that have attracted huge traffic related to the shooting, the McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania where Mangione was first spotted has drawn the ire of internet users who “review bombed” the establishment on Google and Yelp.

The reviews which have since been deleted by both Google and Yelp called workers “rats” and “snitches” with one review spotted by Reuters saying “location has rats in the kitchen that will make you sick and your insurance isn’t going to cover it.”

Luigi Mangione inside the Altoona McDonalds moments before his arrest. Picture: Pennsylvania State Police

A spokesman for Google said that the “reviews violate our policies and are being removed”.

A pop-up on the Yelp website said: “While we don’t take a stand one way or the other when it comes to this incident, we’ve temporarily disabled the posting of content to this page as we work to investigate whether the content you see here reflects actual consumer experiences rather than the recent events.”

Many social media posts have made light of the death of father-of-two Mr Thompson or outright celebrated it, with social media users interpreting the message of the shooter as commentary on claim denials and mistreatment within the industry.