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A woman has been charged with making threats against a health insurance company by repeating words engraved on shell casings found at the scene of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s murder.
Brianna Boston, 42, is accused of saying, “Hold, deny, deny, you’re next,” while speaking on the recorded line to a Blue Cross Blue Shield representative about a denied medical claim.
Ms. Boston, who is originally from Florida, was charged with threatening a mass shooting or terrorist act. A judge set her bail at $100,000 (£78,900).
After a phone call Tuesday with American Health Care, local media reported that detectives in Lakeland, Florida, showed up at Ms. Boston’s home and arrested her.
The Lakeland Police Department and Ms. Boston’s attorney, Jim Hadley, did not respond to requests for comment.
Ms. Boston reportedly told police that “the health care companies played games and deserved to be kicked out of the world because they are evil.”
She said she used the words associated with Mr Thompson’s killer “because that’s what’s in the news at the moment”.
Police said shell casings found at the scene in Manhattan were engraved with the words “deny,” “defend” and “reject.”
These words echo the title of a 2010 book: Delay, Denial, Defense: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.
Luigi Mangione, 26, is charged with Mr Thompson’s murder. He was arrested Monday in Pennsylvania on weapons charges, ending a days-long, multistate manhunt that appeared to have multiple leads.
The case has drawn support for Mr. Mangione and angered the U.S. commercial health insurance industry as some customers have faced high costs and denied claims.
Law enforcement officials also warned about possible copies. The New York Police Department said some medical executives were on a “hit list” that was posted online in connection with Mr. Thompson’s murder.
Authorities reportedly allege that Ms. Boston used “the assassination of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare to her advantage” to threaten the insurance company.
“She’s been in this world long enough that she should definitely know better… You can’t make threats like that in the current environment we live in and think we’re not going to follow up and put you in jail, According to local media, Lakeland Police Chief Sam Taylor.
When she appeared in court, Mr Headley urged the judge to release her pending the trial, claiming his client was a 42-year-old married mother of three who had “never had any criminal charges or convictions”.
A judge set her bail at $100,000, citing “the state of our country at this time.”
Ms. Boston appeared to gasp in response to the judge’s decision.