A woman has been accused of threatening a health insurance company by repeating words engraved on bullet casings found at the scene of the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Brianna Boston, 42, is accused of saying “delay, deny, isolate, you're next” while speaking on a recorded line with a Blue Cross Blue Shield representative about a denied medical claim.
Boston, from Florida, was charged with threatening to carry out a mass shooting or commit a terrorist act. The judge set her bail at $100,000 (£78,900).
After Tuesday's phone call with the American healthcare company, local media reported that investigators in Lakeland, Florida, came to Ms. Boston's home and arrested her.
The Lakeland Police Department and Boston's attorney, Jim Headley, did not respond to requests for comment.
Ms Boston reportedly told police that “healthcare companies played games and deserved karma from the world because they were evil.”
She said she used the words associated with Mr Thompson's killer “because that's what's in the news now”.
Shell casings found at the scene in Manhattan had the words “denial,” “defense” and “deposit” engraved on them, police said.
These words reflect the title of a 2010 book: “Delay, Deny, and Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.”
Luigi Mangione, 26, is charged with Mr Thompson's murder. He was arrested in Pennsylvania on firearms charges Monday, bringing an end to a days-long, multi-state manhunt that appeared to have little evidence.
The case sparked support for Mangione and anger from the for-profit health insurance industry in the United States, where some customers faced high costs and denied claims.
Law enforcement officials have also warned of potential copycat cats. The New York Police Department said that some health care executives were included on a “hit list” posted online in connection with Mr. Thompson’s killing.
Authorities reportedly alleged that Ms. Boston used “the murder of the UnitedHealthcare CEO to her advantage” to make a threat against the insurance company.
“She's been in this world long enough that she should definitely know better… You can't make threats like that in the current environment we live in and think we're not going to come after you and put you in prison.” Lakeland Police Chief Sam Taylor said, according to local media.
When she appeared in court, Headley urged the judge to release her while the case continued, arguing that his client, a 42-year-old married mother of three, had “no criminal charges or convictions whatsoever.”
The judge set her bail at $100,000, citing “the state of our country at this stage.”
Ms. Boston appeared to gasp in response to the judge's decision.
