When asked for her thoughts on UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s assassination, Sen. Elizabeth Warren denounced the grisly killing—but added a controversial statement that she was forced to walk back Wednesday.
In an interview with the Huffington Post on Tuesday, the staunch critic of the American health insurance system condemned Thompson’s killing, but made a point to add that people “can be pushed only so far.”
“The visceral responses from people across this country who feel cheated, ripped off, and threatened by the vile practices of their insurance companies should be a warning to everyone in the health care system,” Warren told the Huffington Post when asked about some of the apathetic responses to Thompson’s death.
“Violence is never the answer, but people can be pushed only so far,” she added. “This is a warning that if you push people hard enough, they lose faith in the ability of their government to make change, lose faith in the ability of the people who are providing the health care to make change, and start to take matters into their own hands in ways that will ultimately be a threat to everyone.”
After receiving backlash for her remarks—which seemingly embraced the assassin’s motive—Warren clarified in another statement to Politico that “violence is never the answer. Period.”
“I should have been much clearer that there is never a justification for murder,” she continued.
The suspect in Thompson’s murder is believed to be 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, who was taken into custody by police in Altoona, Pennsylvania earlier this week.
Law enforcement are believed to be compiling mounting evidence against Mangione, including a spiral notebook in which he penned a “to-do” list and detailed his thoughts on how to kill Thompson.
Police also said Wednesday that the gun recovered during Mangione’s arrest matches the shell casings found at the crime scene.
