Two other CEOs have been threatened following last week’s killing of UnitedHealthcare boss Brian Thompson, the head of a group representing New York City’s business community said Monday.
With the health insurance executive’s killer still at large, Kathryn Wylde—the president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City nonprofit—revealed the alleged threats in a CNBC interview. “I have heard of two incidents just over the weekend where CEOs have received—one anthrax, one a package threatened to be a bomb that had some of the same language about ‘defy’ and ‘depose,’” she said.
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Wylde said in the Squawk Box interview that the incidents affected “two different industries,” neither of which were medical insurance. She later said the incidents hadn’t previously been made public.
“But we are talking about additional actions that have taken place towards corporate leaders here in New York City that look like copycat type of issues?” co-host Becky Quick asked.
“Yes,” Wylde answered. “And institutions. I was with a bunch of leaders last week on Friday morning and they had to turn off their social media channels because they’re being deluged with threats … People who are involved may think this is a game or funny—it’s not. This is a real threat to our country’s economy.”
Wylde did not clarify if the supposed anthrax and bomb threats turned out to be hoaxes, or if the “‘defy” and “depose” language was linked to both incidents or just one. The Daily Beast has contacted the Partnership for New York City for comment.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Thompson was shot dead by a masked gunman early last Wednesday outside the New York Hilton Midtown. Detectives found bullet casings at the scene inscribed with the words “deny,” “defend,” and “depose,” which may refer to a phrase used in the insurance industry about the tactics used to avoid paying claims, according to the Associated Press.
As the manhunt for the shooter enters its second week, online critics have been raging against the U.S. healthcare system, with posts valorizing the killer and pushing back against condemnations of the murder.
“The immediate reaction to the shooting of Brian Thompson from the internet—from the hate and the hate speech that came out, which always is a precedent to violence—it was almost worse than the killing,” Wylde said Monday.
Quick also asked Wylde if she’d seen companies in other industries following some insurers in removing the names and pictures of their executives from their websites in the wake of Thompson’s death.
“Yes. Across the board it’s very serious, being taken very seriously in every industry,” Wylde answered. “There is an angle by which one can get mad at any company.”
She also called on President-elect Donald Trump to change the tone of the current rhetoric around violence.
“I think President-elect Trump is somebody, as a victim of an assassination attempt, is in a good position to use the power that he has to change this,” Wylde said. “I haven’t heard that he’s spoken on this yet. I have heard that he has spoken with the family and the company. Now I really think it’s time for him to go public.”
