Luigi Mangione, CEO killing suspect, pleads not guilty to state terror and murder charges in Manhattan court
Mangione, 26, is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month
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Luigi Mangione, the man suspected of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has pleaded not guilty to state terror and murder charges in a Manhattan courtroom.
Mangione entered his plea during a Monday morning arraignment hearing. He faces 11 counts in New York, including first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism, second-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism and multiple weapons offenses. The 26-year-old faces up to life in prison without parole if convicted.
Demonstrators gathered outside the Manhattan courtroom as officials escorted Mangione inside. Many held signs decrying the insurance industry, with phrases such as “Health over wealth,” and “UHC kills, death by denials.” Others supported Mangione with signs that read, “Free Luigi.”
Mangione is accused of killing CEO Brian Thomspon outside a Manhattan hotel on December 4. Police arrested him on December 9 in Altoona, Pennsylvania after they received a tip he was eating a meal inside a McDonald’s.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg previously called Thompson’s murder “frightening” and “well-planned.”
“This was a killing that was intended to evoke terror and we’ve seen that reaction,” Bragg said last week. “This was not an ordinary killing. Not to suggest that any killing is ordinary, but this was extraordinary.”
Mangione was also charged at the federal level with murder through use of a firearm, a gun offense and two counts of stalking. While New York does not have capital punishment, federal prosecutors could pursue the death penalty.
Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Mangione’s attorney, condemned the federal case last week.
“The federal government’s reported decision to pile on top of an already overcharged first-degree murder and state terror case is highly unusual and raises serious constitutional and statutory double jeopardy concerns,” Agnifilo said in a statement. “We are ready to fight these charges in whatever court they are brought.”
In addition, he faces charges in Pennsylvania related to officials’ alleged discovery of a 3D-printed gun and fake ID cards in his possession when he was arrested. Police also say they found a silencer, a 262-word manifesto and a spiral notebook containing a “to-do list.”
Mangione struggled with police and shouted to reporters standing nearby as he was escorted into a Pennsylvania courtroom for his extradition hearing on December 10.
“It’s completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people and their lived experience,” he yelled.
Mangione waived his extradition and was flown to New York on December 19.
Now, he is being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York. There, several other high-profile people are incarcerated, including former head of FTX Sam Bankman-Fried and Sean “Diddy” Combs, the rapper accused of sex trafficking and other crimes.
More to come...