Arguments over whether the suspect is a ‘hero’ offer a glimpse into an unusual American moment

Is he a hero? A killer? Both?

About the same time the #FreeLuigi memes featuring the mustachioed plumber from “Super Mario Brothers” mushroomed online this week, commenters shared memes showing Tony Soprano pronouncing Luigi Mangione, the man charged with murdering the UnitedHealthcare CEO in Manhattan, a hero. There were the posts lionizing Mangione’s physique and appearance, the ones speculating about who could play him on “Saturday Night Live,” and the ones denouncing and even threatening people at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s for spotting him and calling police.

It was all too much for Pennsylvania’s governor, a rising Democrat who was nearly the vice presidential nominee this year. Josh Shapiro —

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