Accused UnitedHealthcare CEO Mangione fights extradition to New York | Crime news

Luigi Nicola Mangione, 26 years old accused United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who fatally shot United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in an attack in midtown Manhattan last week, has indicated he will fight to have him extradited to New York to face murder charges.

Mangione appeared in court in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, a day after he was arrested in Altoona following a tip-off from a McDonald’s employee. He was charged with Thompson’s murder in New York hours after his arrest, as well as a list of less serious crimes in Pennsylvania.

As he exited the police car, Mangione delivered a somewhat incomprehensible message to reporters, although he referred to an “insult to the intelligence of the American people.”

At the brief hearing, his defense attorney, Thomas Dickey, told the court that Mangione would challenge his extradition to New York, and requested a hearing on the issue. He has 14 days to file a formal appeal of his transfer to New York, and in the meantime, he will be held in Pennsylvania without bail.

While in court, Mangione wore an orange prison jumpsuit and alternated between staring forward, looking at papers, and looking back at the gallery. His lawyer silenced him at one point when he tried to speak.

The court appearance came six days after a gunman shot Thompson, the head of one of the largest health insurance companies in the United States, outside a hotel in midtown Manhattan.

the Insolent nature The attack – and the days-long manhunt – sparked national intrigue. Even while condemning the violence, many experts, doctors and American citizens said it was a symbol of the country’s underlying tide of anger toward the health care industry, where high costs make many patients vulnerable to the will of insurance companies.

Bullet casings found at the scene of the killing bore the words “deny,” “defend” and “isolate,” appearing to refer to a phrase critics use to describe how health insurance companies avoid paying claims. The gunman fled on an electric bicycle to Central Park, and then took a bus out of the city.

In the days following the attack, many did so It was taken to social media To share the accounts of insurance companies that reject claims. These sentiments have prompted authorities to prepare for copycat attacks, according to a law enforcement memo obtained by US media.

The White House has weighed in, too.

“This is clearly horrific,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Tuesday. “Violence to fight any kind of corporate greed is unacceptable.”

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The law enforcement memo, which was based on Mangione’s writings, some of which were found at the time of his arrest, said Mangione was likely motivated by what he described as “parasitic” health insurance companies and a disdain for corporate greed in general.

Authorities said a 3D-printed gun, a silencer, and several fake IDs were found, including one the attacker is believed to have used to check into a New York motel before the shooting. Recover When Mangione was arrested.

According to the memo, Mangione wrote that the United States has the most expensive health care system in the world and that the profits of major corporations continue to rise while “our average life expectancy” does not.

The document added that Mangione may have been inspired by so-called “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski, whom he described as a “political revolutionary.” Kaczynski carried out a series of bombings in the late 1970s until the mid-1990s against modern society, technology and environmental destruction. His attacks killed three.

The profile that has emerged since Mangione’s arrest also bears some similarities to Kaczynski, who was considered a mathematics prodigy.

Mangione came from an influential family in Baltimore, Maryland, and was valedictorian of the elite Baltimore prep school. He earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science in 2020 from the University of Pennsylvania, a prestigious Ivy League school.

Some friends, who are known to be gentle and intelligent, said in interviews with American media that Mangione’s behavior changed after his recent spinal surgery.

“Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest,” Mangione’s family said in a statement posted on social media late Monday by his cousin, Delaware state legislator Nino Mangione.

“We offer our prayers to Brian Thompson’s family, and ask people to pray for everyone involved.”