The suspect accused of killing UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson has pleaded not guilty to murder and terrorism charges in New York state.
Luigi Mangione, 26, appeared in court on Monday and was charged with 11 state crimes, including murder, a crime of terrorism.
He also faces federal charges of stalking and murder, which could result in a death penalty.
Prosecutors allege that Mr. Mangione shot Mr. Thompson in downtown Manhattan before going on the run. Authorities later arrested him at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Mangione appeared in court on Monday wearing a maroon sweater, white-collared shirt and khaki pants.
In addition to a long stream of journalists waiting for the suspect to appear, there were also members of the public – almost all young women – in court, some of whom told CBS, the BBC’s US affiliate, that they had come to watch their to show support.
Mr. Mangione is charged with 11 state crimes in New York, including first-degree murder and murder as a terror crime.
If convicted on all charges, he would face life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Federal prosecutors also separately charged Mr. Mangione with murder with a firearm and interstate stalking resulting in death. Both charges could result in him facing the death penalty.
He has not yet entered a plea to these charges.
Prosecutors have said the federal and state cases will move forward in parallel.
In court last week, Mr. Mangione’s lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said the two charges appeared to contradict each other, with the state charges accusing him of attempting to “intimidate or coerce a civilian population” while the federal charges allege felonies person focused on a civilian population.
Ms Agnifilo said the overlapping cases were “confusing” and “highly unusual”.
“I have never experienced anything like what is happening here,” she said in her 30 years as a lawyer.
In court Monday, she further told the judge that she believes statements from government officials – including New York Mayor Eric Adams – make her “very concerned about my client’s right to a fair trial.”
“This is a young man,” she said. “He is being treated here like a human ping-pong ball between hostile jurisdictions.”
Judge Gregory Carro said he could not control what happens outside court but promised that Mr. Mangione would receive a fair trial.
The suspect is currently in federal custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn after being returned to New York under tight security last week.
Authorities believe Mr. Mangione deliberately killed Mr. Thompson, pointing to evidence that he was angry at the U.S. health care industry.
The federal complaint says a notebook found in Mr. Mangione’s possession expressed “hostility toward the health insurance industry and particularly wealthy executives.”
Some on social media praised Mr. Mangione’s alleged crimes and often expressed their own anger at the private U.S. health care system.
Speaking to CBS, the BBC’s US affiliate, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Sunday that the online rhetoric had been “extraordinarily alarming.”
“It shows what’s really brewing in this country,” he said. “And unfortunately we see that manifesting itself in the violence, the domestic violent extremism that exists.”
