A post on X claims that the UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter Luigi Mangione is being charged with terrorism, while the suspect in the Buffalo supermarket shooting, Payton Gendron, was not.
Verdict: False
Gendron was charged with terrorism in the Buffalo shooting, and is currently serving prison time.
Fact Check:
In 2022, then 18-year-old Payton Gendron shot and killed 10 people and wounded another three in a racially motivated attack at a Tops Supermarket in Buffalo, New York. He specicially cited the “great replacement theory,” a conspiracy theory centering around the belief that white Americans are being systematically replaced by minorities, as rationale for the attack, according to NBC News at the time.
A post on X with over 300,000 views claims that Gendron was not charged with terrorism by authorities. It laments the supposed hypocrisy that he was not while Luigi Mangione, who shot and killed a health insurance company executive in December, was charged with terrorism. (RELATED: Image Claiming To Show Luigi Mangione In Orange Prison Jumpsuit Is AI-Generated)
This is false. Gendron was, in fact, charged by federal prosecutors with “domestic terrorism motivated by hate” and murder, both of which he plead guilty. He apologized in court stating, “I did a terrible thing that day. I shot and killed people because they were black. Looking back now, I can’t believe I actually did it.”
In a July 2022 press release from the Department of Justice, prosecutors stated that an indictment against Gendron showed “special findings alleging, among other things, that Gendron committed the offense after substantial planning and premeditation to commit an act of terrorism.” The statement can be found on page 11 in the indictment filed against Gendron.
The 18-year-old apologized in court after pelading guilty, stating, “I did a terrible thing that day. I shot and killed people because they were black. Looking back now, I can’t believe I actually did it.”
According to the FBI, domestic terrorism charges can be brought when “violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature.”