The man accused of shooting the CEO of UnitedHealthcare pleaded not guilty Monday to state murder and terrorism charges while his attorney complained that statements from the New York mayor would make it difficult to get a fair trial.
Luigi Mangione, 26, was shackled and sitting in a Manhattan courthouse when he leaned into the 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 statewide case that will run parallel to his federal trial.
His initial appearance in New York state court was thwarted by federal prosecutors who brought their own charges over the shooting. Federal charges can carry the possibility of the death penalty, while the maximum penalty for state charges is life in prison without parole.
Prosecutors said the two cases will run parallel tracks, with state charges expected to go to trial first.
One of Mangione’s lawyers told the judge that government officials, including New York Mayor Eric Adams, turned Mangione into a political pawn, robbed him of his rights as a defendant and tainted juries.
“I am very concerned about my client’s right to a fair trial,” Karen Friedman-Agnifilo said.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have filed four new charges against the alleged killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Luigi Mangione, including a murder charge that could result in the death penalty.
The city’s mayor and top police official stood amid a crowd of heavily armed officers last Thursday as Mangione was taken to a Manhattan heliport and slowly escorted to the dock after his extradition from Pennsylvania.
The New York mayor told a local television station: “I wanted to look him in the eye and say that you carried out this terrorist act in my city, the city that New Yorkers love.”
Friedman-Agnifilo accused federal and state prosecutors of presenting conflicting legal theories, calling their approach confusing and highly unusual. “He is being treated like a human ping-pong ball between the warring regions here,” she said on Monday.
State Court Judge Gregory Caro responded that he has little control over what happens outside the courtroom, but said he can ensure Mangione gets a fair trial.
Authorities say Mangione shot Brian Thompson as he walked to an investor conference in midtown Manhattan on the morning of December 4.
Police said Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s restaurant in Pennsylvania after a five-day search and was carrying a gun identical to the one used in the shooting and a fake ID. He also carried a notebook expressing hostility toward the health insurance industry and especially its wealthy executives, according to federal prosecutors.
The killing aims to “cause terror”: Public Prosecutor
At a news conference announcing the state’s charges last week, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the application of the terrorism statute reflected the seriousness of “a horrific, well-planned and targeted murder that was intended to shock, interest and intimidate.”
“In its most basic terms, this killing was intended to incite terror,” he added.
Mangione is being held in a federal prison in Brooklyn alongside several other high-profile defendants, including Sean (Diddy) Combs and Sam Bankman Fried.
Outside the court where Mangione appeared on Monday, a few dozen supporters chanted “Free Luigi” over the sound of a bullhorn.
Natalie Munarez, 55, a Staten Island resident, said she joined the demonstration because she lost her mother and her life savings as a result of insurance claims denials.
“As extreme as it was, it shook up the conversation that we need to deal with 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 isolate himself from family and friends in recent months. He frequently posted in online forums about his back pain. He was never a customer of UnitedHealthcare, according to the insurance company.
Thompson, a married father of two high school students, worked at conglomerate UnitedHealth Group for 20 years and became CEO of its insurance arm in 2021.
The murder prompted some to express their dissatisfaction with American health insurance companies, with Mangione serving as an alternative to frustration with denied coverage and exorbitant medical bills. It has also sent shock waves through the corporate world, alarming executives who say they have received a spike in threats.
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