A Florida woman was arrested after making an apparent allusion to the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson during a phone call with her insurance company.
Briana Boston, 42, allegedly ended a conversation with a representative of BlueCross BlueShield regarding denied insurance claims by saying, "Delay, deny, depose. You people are next," according to ABC News.
Police believe the comment was a reference to words that were written on the shell casings of bullets found at the Thompson shooting. Luigi Mangione, 26, has been charged in Thompson's Dec. 4 murder. A manifesto Mangione reportedly had with him at the time of his arrest referred to health insurance executives as "parasites."
The words on the shell casings closely mimic the title of a 2010 book that was critical of the health insurance industry: "Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It." Some have used Thompson's killing as an opportunity to voice frustrations regarding health insurance policies.
Lakeland Florida Police made contact with Boston at her home, NBC news reported. Boston reportedly told police that she did not own any firearms and had no intention of hurting anyone. Court documents stated that she further stated that "healthcare companies played games and deserved karma from the world because they are evil," NBC reported.
Police charged Boston with one count of "Written Threat to Kill or Injure- Conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism, ABC news reported, and she was held on $100,000 bail.
