Graffiti found on sidewalk outside Blue Cross Blue Shield of Omaha office

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – “Delay, Reject, Impeach.”

Reports indicate that those words were found on bullet casings linked to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month in New York City.

But the sentiment has spread across the country, and metro Omaha is no exception.

Brianna Boston appeared in a Florida court charged with making threats to carry out a mass shooting or act of terrorism after her recent medical claim was allegedly rejected by Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

Boston, 42, is accused of saying “Delay, deny, submit. You’re next,” during a verbal altercation with a company representative last week.

But local law enforcement is on alert after graffiti defending Brianna Boston was found written along sidewalks near the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Omaha building.

“Our collective law enforcement partners want to always be aware of situations like this,” said Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson. “It’s a very pressurized environment right now after the brutal killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, but there’s still a line between First Amendment free speech and criminal activity or criminal speech.”

A line written on the pavement reads: “DELAY IS PASSED DEPOSIT IS FREE TO RACE”.

Hanson says First Amendment activity can quickly turn criminal if someone doesn’t know that line or has bad intentions, but he believes in this case they are familiar with the person they believe wrote the words on the sidewalk outside the Blue Cross and Blue Shield office .

“In this case, this individual is a known provocateur in the city of Omaha,” Hanson said. “They want to elicit an emotional response from the individuals on whom they focus their chalk graffiti. So we reached out to a management team in that area to say, “Hey, we’re here for you, it’s on our radar, and we don’t have anything to worry about right now.”

Rainy weather will wash away the graffiti, but metro Omaha law enforcement will take any perceived threat seriously.

“We also want our business community to know that, just like every citizen of Douglas County, our collective law enforcement partners are here to keep you safe and we will investigate every potential situation where you feel threatened” , the sheriff said. .

Agencies across the country are on high alert following Thompson’s New York killing and subsequent arrest alleged killer Luigi Mangione. Social media reaction to the killing has been polarizing, with some calling Mangione a hero while others claim he is a cold-blooded killer.