Ocasio-Cortez: Denying coverage can be seen as ‘act of violence’

NEW YORK — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez isn't defending last week's targeted execution of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson, but believes companies like his act in a way that many people might see as life-threatening.

"This is not to say that an act of violence is justified, but I think for anyone who is confused or shocked or appalled, they need to understand that people interpret and feel and experience denied claims as an act of violence against them," the 35-year-old liberal lawmaker said in a video shared to social media this week.

Blasting the nation's health care system, Ocasio-Cortez said she had no health insurance until joining Congress in 2019. She recalled going to a free clinic for blood work she couldn't afford while campaigning to represent New York's 14th District.

"Health care in this country has gotten to such a depraved state that people are living with things that they should never have to live with," she continued in the clip. "We need to understand that extreme levels of inequality in the United States yield high degrees of social instability."

According to the congresswoman, Americans who don't care that others can't afford necessities like health care should at least consider the potential danger such desperation and frustration causes all of society.

Police in Pennsylvania arrested Ivy League graduate Luigi Mangione on Monday in connection to Thompson's murder outside a Hilton hotel in Midtown where insurance company investors were scheduled to meet Dec. 4. He's been charged with murder, illegal weapons possession, forgery and providing false identification to police.

Mangione, who's expected to enter a not guilty plea, reportedly harbored a grudge against insurance companies that profit by denying claims filed by people overwhelmed by medical expenses.

When Mangione was apprehended, authorities found a notebook in which he seemingly plotted to target a health care insurance executive.

"What do you do? You wack the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention," he allegedly wrote, according to the New York Times. "It's targeted, precise, and doesn't risk innocents."

Thompson's killing was celebrated online by many who voiced their own frustrations with insurance companies and the nation's health care system as a whole.