Amazon yanks ‘Deny Defend Depose,’ ‘Free Luigi’ merch related to alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO murderer from site

Amazon has been forced to repeatedly remove merchandise sympathetic to United Healthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangione emblazoned with the phrases “Deny Defend Depose” — which the gunman allegedly scribbled onto his bullet casings — and “Free Luigi.”

During online retailers’ busy holiday season season, gifts like glasses, tumblers, shirts and hats with the with “Deny Defend Depose” began popping up on websites like Amazon, TikTok and Ebay even before according to The Washington Post. 

Other Mangione-themed items with “Free Luigi” written on them have been put up for sale for the killer’s admirers.

Amazon pulled the merchandise because the products violated their guidelines — but would not say which, according to the newspaper, which is owned by Jeff Bezos.

The company said the products violated their guidelines — but would not say which, according to WaPo, which is also owned by Bezos.

Online searches for “deny defend depose” skyrocketed on Thursday after it was reported that the ominous message was scribbled into ammunition recovered at the murder scene outside of the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan.

The three words appear to be a criticism of healthcare companies’ perceived schemes to limit medical claims in pursuit of profits — and play on the title of the 2010 book “Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.”

“Deny, delay, defend” are known as the “three d’s of insurance.”

4

4

The book, authored by Jay M. Feinman, criticizes the healthcare system and has sold out at several online bookstores since Thompson’s assassination, The Independent reported.

It’s skyrocketed to the top of bestsellers in Amazon’s Insurance Law Business Law section this week.

By Sunday afternoon, just hours before Mangione’s arrest, shoppers on Amazon could purchase a $24.55 “Deny Defend Depose” T-shirt, which the listing described as related to “Healthcare Insurance Awareness,” according to The Washington Post.

Other items with the phrase for sale included a “Vibrant Color Vinyl Detail for Cars” for $6.99 and a “United Healthcare Parody Deny Defend Depose Wine Tumbler” which the seller described as a gift “For Auntie” for $12.59.

All three items had been removed by Monday, WaPo reported.

4

4

Clothing, jewelry and even Christmas ornaments that said “Deny Defend Depose” were available on Etsy on Monday — with one sweatshirt even featuring a guillotine.

At the TikTok Holiday Shop, a holiday sweatshirt reading “‘Tis the Season, Deny. Defend. Depose” decorated with reindeer and the scales of justice was also available for purchase.

One of the sweatshirts was purchased more than 1,000 times, TikTok sales data revealed.

On eBay, merchandise featuring the slogan was also for sale.

An eBay spokesperson told the paper that its policies would not force the removal of items with “Deny, Defend, Depose” written on them, however, “items that glorify or incite violence, including those that celebrate the recent murder of UHC CEO Brian Thompson, are prohibited.”

The reactions to Thompson’s killing have been alarmingly positive, with many expressing outrage at the current healthcare system. 

The sympathy for Mangione has led law enforcement to fear that extremists may consider Mangione a “martyr’’ and pick up his cause, law enforcement sources said.

After he was busted at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania, netizens blasted the McDonald’s worker who phoned police as a “snitch” and a “rat,” with some users publicly threatening the unnamed employee.

GoFundMe has also had to shut down fundraising pages made in support of the alleged gunman.

“GoFundMe’s Terms of Service prohibit fundraisers for the legal defense of violent crimes,” a spokesperson for the charity site told The Independent. “The fundraisers have been removed from our platform and all donors have been refunded.”

A separate legal fund has raised over $27,000 with a goal of $200,000.