The suspect accused of killing the CEO of an insurance company entered a plea of not guilty in court on Monday for an arraignment on state murder charges, two of which involve terrorism enhancements.
During the court proceedings, Prosecutor Joel Sideman stated that the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office holds primary jurisdiction and will present its case alongside a related federal case. Nonetheless, Sideman mentioned that Luigi Mangione is likely to return to federal custody.
At 26 years old, Mangione faces charges in New York that include first-degree murder linked to terrorism, second-degree murder as an act of terrorism, criminal possession of a weapon, and various other offenses in connection with the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4th.
Mangione was extradited to New York from Pennsylvania last week and taken directly to federal court, where he was extradited on charges that could see him face the death penalty, unlike in state court, where New York has barred execution as a form of punishment. Federal prosecutors have not said if that’s the case.
New York Police appeared to avoid the dramatic “perp walk” they orchestrated last week however — with Mangione shackled, wearing an orange jump suit, and surrounded by a cadre of heavily armed police officers. On Monday morning, WABC said, he apppeared in a red sweater, white shirt, and chinos — still fully chained, but surrounded by only plainclothed police officers.
He spoke only to announce his “not guilty” plea. His next court appearance is set for February 21, WCBS reported.
WABC said no family members appeared to be present in the courtroom, although about two dozen supporters waited outside the court house from about 4 a.m.
“It’s very distributing to see how the hundreds of the school shootings that have happened, none of them have been charged with terrorism, but when a millionaire is murdered, they charge him with terrorism,” one woman told the station.
Mangione was initially to be arraigned last week, but the surprise federal indictment on stalking murder and other charges usurped the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s plans and forced him to delay.
Prosecutors say Mangione laid in wait on the morning of December 4 for Thompson’s arrival at the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan for an investors’ conference, then stepped behind him and shot him from about 10 feet away. The shooting was captured on surveillance video.
Mangione then fled into an alley, where he hopped on a bike and rode into Central Park. A few minutes later, he rode out of the part but shortly ditched the bike and took a cab to the George Washington Bridge bus station, and police initially thought he’d fled the city by bus. They later said, however, that he somehow got from the bus station to Penn Station, about a 30 minute subway right away, and from there took a train to Philadelphia.
He was captured less than a week later in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where he had taken a bus on a meandering trip in the direction of Pittsburgh. In Pennsylvania, he faced weapons and forgery charges and initially planned to fight extradition to New York. But after hiring former prosecutor Karen Friedman Agnifilo as his New York defense attorney, he changed his mind.
By that time last week, the federal charges were filed, and he was brought directly to a federal court for arraignment, flanked by a cadre of heavily armed New York police officers.
Mangione was still carrying the ghost gun weapon police believe he used in the shooting, and investigators have said shell casings found on the scene match the gun and that his fingerprints matched those found on a water bottle at the scene. He also had a 262-word “manifesto” that noted the United States “has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy,” while specifically mentioning UnitedHealthcare as one of the largest companies in the country. It is the largest insurance organization in the country.
A notebook found with him detailed more of his plans, investigators said including his initial thoughts of using a bomb before deciding on the more specific targeting of Thompson “at his own bean counting conference.”
