An online campaign has been created in support of the fugitive behind the assassination of United Healthcare's CEO Wednesday, insisting, "This man deserves to be heard," as law enforcement continues the search for the suspect.
A GoFundMe campaign launched by Kristy Erickson aims to raise $100,000 for the legal defense of the yet-to-be-identified fugitive suspected of assassinating United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Despite the platform's lofty goal, the fundraiser has yet to receive any donations as of publication.
"This one needs no introduction", Erickson wrote on the GoFundMe page. "For too long, insurance companies have victimized sick people; this man is their karma."
The suspect "did what the rest of us won't," she added.
"As a mother of an autistic kid, I'm sure my day with the insurance companies is coming too, so I offer to help this man as it came to me in a dream," she explained.
"This man deserves to be heard!" Erickson wrote, urging legal professionals to assist either with the funds or by taking on the case pro bono. "We are righting a lot of wrongs in this country; this is just one."
"All funds will be given to the legal defense of the man that gunned down Brian Thompson," she promised.
Meanwhile, another GoFundMe was set up by Victoria Bell, also campaigning for donations for what she called the "CEO Smiler". This page's goal is listed as $50,000 though it also hasn't raised any donations at the time of writing. Bell also promises to use the fund to pay for the shooter's funeral expenses should he die in "a blaze of glory" before being captured.
She also vowed to "commission a respectable statue of this hero of the people" if it was allowed.
Police are searching for a masked gunman who fatally shot United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside the New York Hilton Midtown on Wednesday morning.
Thompson, 50, was in the city for the company's annual investors meeting when he was ambushed by a suspect who had reportedly been lying in wait for several minutes.
The shooter fled on an e-bike, leaving behind a cell phone that investigators have collected as evidence.
Investigators have a 'reason to believe' that the suspected gunman has already fled New York City, according to CNN's Omar Jimenez.
A $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to his arrest.
