A New York judge has thrown out the most serious charges against Luigi Mangione, the accused assassin of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, in what the New York Post called a “massive blow to prosecutors.” Judge Gregory Carro rejected claims that Mangione could be charged as a terrorist, tossing out the top counts of “murder in the first degree as an act of terrorism and murder in the second degree as a crime of terrorism” against the 27-year-old Ivy League graduate.
Carro explained in his ruling, “The People presented sufficient evidence that the defendant murdered Brian Thompson in a premeditated and calculated execution. That does not mean, however, that the defendant did so with terroristic intent.” The decision keeps alive Mangione’s second-degree murder charge but leaves him eligible for parole if convicted.
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The Post reported that prosecutors had argued Mangione’s act was intended to intimidate the public, but the judge disagreed, writing, “The defendant’s apparent objective, as stated in his writings, was not to threaten, intimidate, or coerce, but rather, to draw attention to what he perceived as the greed of the insurance industry.” Yet by definition, domestic terrorism is the committing of terrorist acts in one’s own country against fellow citizens. Does the cold-blooded execution of a healthcare CEO outside an investor conference not fit that definition? Many would argue that it does.
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Here lies the hypocrisy. Courts and government officials in recent years have been quick to expand the label of domestic terrorism to ordinary citizens, parents speaking at school board meetings, or protestors who step out of line. Yet in a case where an Ivy League graduate planned and carried out an assassination meant to send a political message, the court dismissed the very idea of terrorism. Justice is not only uneven but inverted.
This case exposes a troubling pattern across America’s courts. Violent offenders are having their charges reduced while citizens who step up to protect others, such as Daniel Penny, find themselves crushed under the weight of the justice system. The prophet Isaiah warned of days like this: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness” (Isa. 5:20).
Scripture is clear that God hates both the acquitting of the guilty and the condemnation of the innocent: “Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent—the Lord detests them both” (Prov. 17:15). When courts release criminals or downplay their crimes while punishing those who act in defense of others, they are participating in an inversion of justice that the Bible warns against.
Jesus Himself warned that “because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matt. 24:12). That lawlessness is not just seen on the streets but in the courts where justice is perverted. This rising lawlessness points us toward one of the greatest prophetic signs of the end times. Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 2 about the coming of “the man of lawlessness, the man of perdition,” also known as the Antichrist.
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Every time a criminal is excused while righteousness is punished, America edges further toward the climate in which the Antichrist will be revealed. The church must not grow numb to this trend. We must rely on the Holy Spirit and biblically empowered discernment so that we are not swept away by deception. As courts bend justice, God’s people must stand firm in the truth, knowing these things were foretold and point to Jesus’ soon return.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a background in journalism from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine.
