it's extremely critical that you see the photo of the perp walk for luigi mangione as being propaganda. i've seen so many people wave it off and instead fawn over his looks. and trust me, i know it ended up being kind of pathetic and weird - but please don't brush it off as a "modelling opportunity" for him. it's a fucking terrifying message the police are sending.
i want to make a few comparisons here, in case you're not from the US or familiar with why the perp walk thing is something to pay attention to. just to set the groundwork for why this is a purposeful, unusual, and cruel act by the nyc police - for why this is not a common occurrence and for why that matters.
the prosecution alleges the show of force is due to the charge of "terrorism." for comparison, in june 2015, tsarnaev was found guilty for the boston marathon bombing, which killed 3 people and injured hundreds. his actions are considered to be an act of domestic terrorism. i have spent the last hour looking through google for pictures of similar to mangione's perp walk - and so far, i have found zero. i also just do not personally remember a moment like that, despite living in boston at the time.
they allege that luigi is a stone-cold killer who carried out a longterm plan, making him particularly dangerous. again for comparison: in nyc, recently cory martin was found guilty of the killing of brandy odom. the murder was planned and premeditated to steal insurance money. and yet no staged perp walk. why didn't her life matter enough for a "show of force"?
but mangione gets paraded by a veritable army of police officers as if he is a rabid animal. for a single citizen who allegedly killed one other single citizen, the "largest perp walk ever" occurs.
so what is the "strong message" that the mayor and the police were trying to send here? the mayor speaks as if mangione is already convicted of terrorism. there is a very thin number of people who feel threatened by the CEO's death. none of us felt like mangione needs to be under massive armed guard.
the message is that you shouldn't resist. they are trying to "make an example" of him - that if you behave badly and kill a single rich person, you'll be treated as if you killed hundreds of people. you will be treated worse than a man who was found guilty of terrorism. you will be considered guilty without trial. the message is that the rich are a protected class, and you cannot touch them without massive punishment. they are trying to prevent a revolution by showing dominance and force against you.
the message is that the police are a puppet of the wealthy and that the law is not equally applied across class disparity. it is "some are more equal than others." it is "one life is more precious than another."
the show of force wasn't for luigi. it was for us. it was a warning. they are trying to remind us who is really in control.
Just to make this clear as crystal:
This is Timothy McVeigh's perp walk.
If you're not old enough or not American enough to know that name, he blew up a federal building in Oklahoma City in the mid-90s. 169 people died in the initial blast, 19 of them children and three of them pregnant women. A rescue worker, not counted in the previous number, was killed by falling debris while evacuating those inside. Close to 700 people were injured, over 300 other buildings were severely damaged, and McVeigh explicitly agreed that what he'd done was terrorism, and stated it was in direct retaliation for the Waco, TX and Ruby Ridge standoffs. It is important to note that McVeigh freely admitted his guilt; what you are seeing is the perp walk of a man who happily admitted to committing the largest act of domestic terrorism in the history of the United States. He wasn't yet convicted, but he himself said he was guilty. Also of note is that over 100 of his victims worked for the federal government, including six Secret Service agents. This is important because it adds additional charges; in the eyes of the law, killing a federal agent is worse than killing some random member of Joe Q. Public.
This is Luigi Mangione's perp walk.
He is alleged to have killed one adult civilian man in a direct and targeted shooting that did not endanger anyone else or cause any property damage.
He has pleaded not guilty and under United States law is considered innocent until determined otherwise beyond a reasonable doubt in a fair trial held by a jury of his peers.
My opinion of a politician has never fallen so far, so fast, as it has with Kathy Hochul and the way she's just shitting herself to console a bunch of rich spoiled white men by throwing this young man under the bus. I need you to understand it does not matter if Luigi Mangione is guilty or not. This is a violation of multiple of his constitutional rights and it makes an absolute mockery out of what's left of our justice system. They could already have a signed confession and this would still be a violation of his constitutional rights.
Do not let them get away with this. This is deliberate and it should lead to a mistrial.
