Days following the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a Florida woman was arrested for threatening another “evil” health insurance company, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, telling them, “Delay, Deny, Depose, You People Are Next!”
As we’ve previously reported, on December 4, UHC CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down near the Hilton Hotel in Midtown New York City, and the suspect immediately fled the state. On the fifth day of the manhunt for the suspect, he was found at a McDonald’s in Altoona, PA — located between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg.
The suspect was identified as 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, who was charged in both Pennsylvania and New York. He faces fake ID and gun charges in PA and 5 charges in New York: one count of murder, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, one count of second-degree possession of a forged document, and one count of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
According to FOX 13 Tampa Bay, on Tuesday (December 10), a woman in Lakeland, Florida was charged after police said she ended a call to health insurance company Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield with the words, “Delay,” “Deny,” and “Depose.” In the arrest affidavit, officials with the Lakeland Police Department said they were contacted by the FBI on December 10 regarding an alleged threat made over the phone.
Police identified 42-year-old Briana Boston as the suspect, accusing her of calling Blue Cross Blue Shield regarding recent medical insurance claims that were denied. According to the affidavit, the entire phone call was recorded and near the end of the conversation, investigators accused Boston of stating, “Delay, Deny, Depose. You people are next.” The first three words are similar to those engraved on the shell casings found at the scene of the UHC CEO murder last week.
The arrest affidavit also highlighted other similarities between the incidents while further noting that the three words have become a nationally recognized phrase “directed against insurance companies” as threats. Lakeland Police Chief Sam Taylor said, “She’s been in this world long enough that she certainly should know better that you can’t make threats like that in the current environment that we live in and think that we’re not going to follow up and put you in jail.”
Police found the woman at her home in Lakeland, Florida, where she reportedly admitted to weaponizing the three words, “Delay,” “Deny,” and “Depose,” during her phone call to Blue Cross Blue Shield. She told detectives, “Healthcare companies played games and deserved karma from the world because they are evil.” She reportedly said she learned the phrase from the UnitedHealthcare CEO’s murder and used it “because it’s what is in the news right now,” clearly wanting to “take advantage” of horrific headlines.
Despite weaponizing the words “Delay, “Deny,” and “Depose” against Blue Cross Blue Shield, the Florida woman told police that she does not actually own any firearms and “was not a danger to anyone.” Chief Taylor said, “She readily admitted, ‘Yeah that’s exactly what I said but I didn’t mean anything by it.’ Well, you don’t get to pull that back after you say it.”
The Florida woman has since been charged with threats to conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism. During her first appearance in court, her lawyer, Jim Headley told the judge, “My client is 42, married mother of three. [She] never had any criminal charges or convictions. May you release her on her own recognizance.” Despite this, the judge set her bond at $100,000, noting, “I do find that the bond of $100,000 is appropriate considering the status of our country at this point.”
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