Who is Nino Mangione? GOP Maryland lawmaker is cousin of Luigi Mangione

Luigi Mangione, the man arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City last week, is related to a GOP lawmaker in Maryland.

Police arrested Mangione on Monday at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and held him on local charges after he was recognized by others in the restaurant from photographs released by the New York Police Department (NYPD) last week. New York Mayor Eric Adams described him as a "strong person of interest" during a press conference.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during a press conference that Mangione was arrested with a gun and fake New Jersey ID card that appeared to match the ID the suspect used to check into a New York City hostel before the shooting.

Mangione, 26, has been named a person of interest, not a suspect, and has not been charged with Thompson's death. He is being held and questioned on local charges, and NYPD officers are traveling to Altoona, about 250 miles away from the midtown Manhattan crime.

The shooting has drawn nationwide attention, both for the brutal crime and for what many view as a broken health care system. Some Americans responded with indifference to the shooting.

When arrested, Mangione was found with a handwritten manifesto stating that he believes violence is the only way to change the health care industry, police said. A police official told CNN that Mangione wrote in the manifesto that "these parasites had it coming."

Several local Maryland news outlets, including Maryland Matters and WBAL-TV, reported that he is a cousin of Maryland State Delegate Nino Mangione, a Republican who represents suburbs of Baltimore in the Legislature.

Messages from Newsweek seeking additional comment were not immediately returned by Mangione's office.

Nino Mangione's Facebook page describes him as a "conservative Republican fighting for freedom and the future of Maryland."

He was first elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2019, according to his official biography. He graduated from Towson University and also works as a radio host for WCBM, a conservative-leaning station owned by his family.

His campaign website's official biography says he is one of 60 grandchildren.

"Nino held many positions working for his grandfather's family business," the bio says. "Whether it was on a construction site or filing papers in the office, Nino began to understand the importance of family and of hard work. This experience gave him a deep respect for the sacrifices made by small business owners."

He has shown support for President-elect Donald Trump both recently and in the past.

In a November 15 Facebook post, he wrote, "My privilege to be at Trump Towers today. Donald J. Trump is an amazing individual and will be a great President. I cannot wait for him to be back in the Oval Office!"

Baltimore-based CBS affiliate WJZ reported that the Mangione family owns several country clubs, health care facilities and real estate companies in the Baltimore area. Nicholas Mangione Sr., the grandfather of both Luigi and Nino, was a real estate developer.