The man accused of shooting and killing the CEO of UnitedHealthcare pleaded not guilty Monday to murder and terrorism charges, but his lawyer said New York’s mayor’s comments will make it harder for him to get a fair trial.
Luigi Mangione, 26, sat shackled in a Manhattan courtroom and bent over a microphone to make his plea. Last week, the Manhattan district attorney formally charged him with multiple murders, including murder as an act of terrorism, in a state case that is proceeding parallel to federal prosecutors.
The federal charge carries a possible death penalty, but the maximum sentence for the state charge is life in prison without parole. Prosecutors said the two cases are expected to run parallel and the state charges will be tried first.
One of Mr. Mangione’s lawyers told the judge that government officials, including New York Mayor Eric Adams, had turned Mr. Mangione into a political pawn, stripped him of his rights as a defendant and tainted the jury’s standing.
“I am very concerned about my client’s right to a fair trial,” Karen Friedman Agnifilo said.
“This is a young man,” she said. “He’s being treated like a human ping-pong ball between conflict jurisdictions here.”
Adams responded.
“The cold-blooded assassination of father-of-two Brian Thompson and the horror it instilled on the streets of New York City for days on end has since been disgustingly romanticized, shining a spotlight on the darkest corners of the internet. ” said the spokesperson. said in a statement. “Mayor Adams’ priority is, and always has been, public safety, and he has repeatedly talked about how social media fuels the radicalization of young people. Critics can say as much as they want. “They can do it, but they’re showing up to support the police and bringing in whistleblowers.” That message to New Yorkers that violence and vitriol have no place in our city is what Mayor Eric Adams is all about. ”
State Trial Court Judge Gregory Caro responded that while he has little control over what happens outside the courtroom, he can ensure Mr. Mangione receives a fair trial.
Luigi Nicolas Mangione appears in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York on December 23, 2024. Mangione, 26, is accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street on Dec. 4. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEU/AFP via Getty Images)
Authorities say Mangione shot and killed Brian Thompson on the morning of Dec. 4 as he walked to an investor meeting in midtown Manhattan.
Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania after a five-day manhunt with a gun matching the one used in the shooting and fake identification, police said. Federal prosecutors said he also had a notebook in which he expressed hostility toward the health insurance industry, particularly wealthy executives.
Luigi Mangione arrives at Manhattan Criminal Court on December 23, 2024 in New York City. Mangione, 26, is scheduled to appear at arraignment on state murder charges for killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street on December 4. (Photo by Spencer Pratt/Getty Images)
At a press conference announcing the state charges on Tuesday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the use of terrorism laws could lead to “well-planned, horrifying, targeted killings intended to cause shock, attention and intimidation.” He said it reflects the seriousness of the situation.
“In the most basic terms, this was a murder intended to evoke fear,” he added. “And we’ve seen that response.”
Mangione’s attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, accused federal and state prosecutors of promoting conflicting legal theories. In federal court last week, she said their approach was “very confusing” and “highly unusual.”
Mangione is being held in a federal prison in Brooklyn along with several other high-profile defendants, including Sean “Diddy” Combs and Sam Bankman-Freed.
He was extradited from Pennsylvania on Thursday and immediately rushed to New York City, where he was seen being taken from a helicopter by heavily armed police officers wearing orange jumpsuits and New York City Mayor Eric Adams. .
Adams said she wanted to send a message to the suspect: “I wanted to look him in the eye and say you carried out this act of terrorism in my city, in this city that the people of New York love.” ” the mayor told local residents. TV station. “I wanted to be there to represent that symbol.”
Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland family, appeared to have isolated himself from family and friends in recent months. He frequently posted on online forums about his battle with back pain. He was not a UnitedHealthcare customer, the insurance company said.
Thompson, who is married and the father of two high school students, worked for the giant UnitedHealth Group for 20 years, becoming CEO of its insurance division in 2021.
The killing has led some to voice their outrage at U.S. health insurance companies, with Mr. Mangione standing in for complaints about coverage denials and high medical costs. It has also sent shockwaves through the corporate world, unsettling executives who say the threat has skyrocketed.
