Providence City Council “Liked” Luigi Mangione Post on People Magazine

Providence City Council “Liked” Luigi Mangione Post on People Magazine

The taxpayer-funded Providence City Council social media account “liked” a post about suspected killer Luigi Mangione.

Now, the City Council office says the "like" has been removed. 

The Council can be seen "liking" a post by People Magazine published on December 8 about Mangione appearing at the trial for his alleged shooting and murder of UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson in New York. 

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On Monday, a City Council spokesperson said the official City Council page’s "like" reaction has “since been removed” and might have been “inadvertent.” 

“The like was not intentional and does not reflect any position or endorsement by the City Council. The account is managed by multiple staff, and this may have been an inadvertent action while scrolling. The like has been removed, and we are reviewing internal practices to prevent such errors in the future," said Council spokesperson Kati Stevens in a statement to GoLocal. 

 

Providence City Council Office and Politics 

A manifesto found on Mangione reportedly said, "these parasites had it coming."

“Police have not released the multipage handwritten document from Mangione but said it showed ‘ill will towards corporate America,’” reported Axios, two days following the People post. 

In Providence, the City Council office has been at the center of an investigation into political actions by staff members. 

As GoLocal was first to report in November, the City of Providence’s Internal Auditor says she found multiple credit card violations by city employees who made charges for non-emergency and political events. 

In September, GoLocal unveiled that the City put a hold on the use of the Council’s credit cards; a GoLocal Access to Public Records Act (APRA) request then found that staff and members of the Providence City Council were using credit cards for travel, Twitter accounts, and expenses related to a conference hosted by the Democratic Socialists of America.

A 46-page report obtained by GoLocal, City of Providence Internal Auditor Gina Costa found multiple violations based on how the credit cards were used - and is recommending that employees not only pay back a number of charges, but that the City Solicitor should look into whether the conduct constitutes civil - or criminal - offenses.