The operations director for a controversial leftist congresswoman downplayed the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson after Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty to related charges last week.
"You’ll never convince me that Luigi is a villain while everyone in the Epstein files is roaming free," Briana Rose Lee said Friday on X after Mangione pleaded guilty to interstate stalking resulting in death and cyberstalking/use of interstate facilities resulting in death.
Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is currently seeking re-election for her fifth term in Congress. Lee's X bio says she does "operations" for the progressive congresswoman. Her LinkedIn profile confirms she has been working for Omar since January 2024, and that she is the former chairwoman of the Minneapolis Democratic-Farm-Labor (DFL) party.
"On the morning of Dec. 4, 2024, I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan," Mangione told the court during last week's proceedings. "I knew what I was doing."
Thompson, a husband, father of two and the top executive at UnitedHealthcare, was a Minnesota resident who lived in the suburbs of Minneapolis — just outside of Omar's district. He was in New York City for business at the time of his death.
Lee faced some backlash for her post.
"You know you have sold your soul for your political beliefs when you are supporting an assassin who murdered a Minnesota father in cold blood," one X user said in a reply to the post. "You and many others need to seek help."
"This comment perfectly highlights the mental illness plaguing the Democratic Party. Completely ignorant and psychotic," said another.
"Luigi changed nothing about our healthcare system. And he killed an innocent man," wrote a third.
Omar's office and campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment on her staffer downplaying the killing of a Minnesotan.
Other leftists joined Lee in dismissing Mangione's actions, including one well-known podcaster who served as the national press secretary for independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders during his 2020 presidential campaign.
"Talking about Luigi as a 'killer' without mentioning the tens of thousands of deaths Brian Thompson was responsible for is manufacturing consent for corporate genocide,'" Briahna Joy Gray wrote on X. "The problem with cops is their selective enforcement of crime. It’s about protecting monied interests. Not you."
Gray's post drew the ire of at least one elected Democrat.
"Luigi Mangione is a cold-blooded assassin who belongs in prison for the rest of his life," said Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., from his personal X account. "Any civilization that lionizes a cold-blooded murderer has forfeited the right to call itself civilized."
In response, Gray referred to Torres as a "baby killing Zionist coward."