The man accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive pleaded not guilty to murder and terrorism charges Monday, while his lawyer complained that statements from the New York mayor would make it difficult to get a fair trial .
Luigi Mangione, 26, was handcuffed and sitting in a Manhattan court when he leaned toward a microphone to make his plea. The Manhattan district attorney formally charged him last week with multiple counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism, in a state case that will run parallel to his federal prosecution.
His first appearance in New York state court was prevented by federal prosecutors filing their own charges in the shooting. The federal charges could carry the possibility of the death penalty, while the maximum penalty for the state charges is life in prison without parole.
Prosecutors said the two cases would continue in parallel, with the state charges to be heard first.
One of Mangione’s lawyers told a judge that government officials, including New York Mayor Eric Adams, turned Mangione into a political pawn, depriving him of his rights as a defendant and tainting the jury.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have filed four new charges against the alleged killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Luigi Mangione, including one count of murder that could carry the death penalty.
“I am very concerned about my client’s right to a fair trial,” Karen Friedman told Agnifilo.
The city’s mayor and top police officer stood amid a crowd of heavily armed officers last Thursday as Mangione was flown to a Manhattan helipad after his extradition from Pennsylvania and slowly escorted up a pier.
“I wanted to look him in the eyes and say that you committed this terrorist attack in my city – the city that the people of New York love,” the mayor told a local television station.
Friedman Agnifilo has accused federal and state prosecutors of pushing conflicting legal theories, calling their approach confusing and highly unusual. “He is being treated here like a human ping-pong ball between hostile jurisdictions,” she said Monday.
State Court Judge Gregory Carro responded that he has little control over what happens outside the courtroom but said he can guarantee Mangione will receive a fair trial.
Authorities say Mangione shot Brian Thompson on the morning of Dec. 4 as he went to an investor conference in midtown Manhattan.
Mangione was arrested after a five-day search at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania and was carrying a gun that matched the gun used in the shooting and a fake ID, police said. According to federal prosecutors, he also carried a notebook in which he expressed hostility toward the health insurance industry and, in particular, toward wealthy executives.
Killing intended to ’cause terror’: District Attorney
At a news conference announcing the state’s charges last week, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the use of the terrorism law reflected the seriousness of a “horrifying, well-planned, targeted murder designed to provoke shock, attention and intimidation.” should”.
“Basically, it was a murder intended to cause terror,” he added.
Mangione is being held at a federal prison in Brooklyn along with several other high-profile defendants, including Sean (Diddy) Combs and Sam Bankman-Fried.
The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is charged with federal murder and felony stalking, along with federal murder and terrorism charges previously announced by the New York Attorney General’s Office, according to a court document filed Thursday. Luigi Mangione was extradited from Pennsylvania to New York City.
Outside the courthouse where Mangione appeared on Monday, a few dozen supporters shouted “Free for Luigi” to the sound of trumpets.
Natalie Monarrez, a 55-year-old Staten Island resident, said she joined the demonstration because she lost both her mother and her savings due to denied insurance claims.
“As extreme as it was, it shook up the conversation that we need to address this issue,” she said of the shooting. “Enough is enough, people are fed up.”
Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland family, appeared to have cut himself off from family and friends in recent months. He frequently posted in online forums about his problems with back pain. According to the insurer, he was never a customer of UnitedHealthcare.
Thompson, a married father of two high school students, had worked at giant UnitedHealth Group for 20 years and became CEO of its insurance division in 2021.
The killing has led some to express their displeasure with U.S. health insurers, with Mangione acting as a surrogate for frustration over denials of coverage and high medical bills. It has also sent shockwaves through the corporate world, unsettling executives who say they have received a surge in threats.
