The suspect accused of killing UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson has pleaded not guilty to New York state murder and terrorism charges.
Luigi Mangione, 26, appeared in court Monday to be arraigned on 11 state criminal charges, including murder and terrorism offenses.
He also faces federal stalking and murder charges that could lead to a death sentence.
Prosecutors allege that Mangione shot Thompson in midtown Manhattan before fleeing. Authorities later arrested him at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania.
Mangione appeared in court Monday wearing a maroon sweater, a white collared shirt and khaki pants.
In addition to a long line of journalists waiting for the suspect to appear, members of the public – almost all of them young women – were in court, some of whom told CBS, the BBC’s American partner, that they were there to show their support. .
Mangione faces 11 state criminal charges in New York, including first-degree murder and murder as a terrorism crime.
If convicted of all charges, he would face a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Federal prosecutors also separately charged Mangione with using a firearm to commit murder and interstate stalking resulting in death. Both charges could earn him the death penalty.
He has yet to plead guilty to those charges.
Prosecutors have said the federal and state cases will move forward in parallel.
In court last week, Mangione’s attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said the two sets of charges appear to conflict, as the state charges accuse him of trying to “intimidate or coerce a civilian population,” while The federal charges focus on crimes against an individual.
Agnifilo said the overlapping cases were “confusing” and “very unusual.”
“I’ve never seen anything like what’s happening here” in 30 years of practicing law, he said.
In court Monday, she further told the judge that she believed statements by government officials, including New York City Mayor Eric Adams, made her “very concerned about my client’s right to a fair trial.” .
“This is a young man,” he said. “Here he is treated like a human ping-pong ball between conflicting jurisdictions.”
Judge Gregory Carro said he can’t control what happens outside of court, but promised Mangione would receive a fair trial.
The suspect is currently in federal custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn after being returned to New York amid tight security last week.
Authorities believe Mangione carried out a targeted killing of Thompson, pointing to evidence that he was angry at the American healthcare industry.
The federal complaint notes that a notebook found in Mangione’s possession expressed “hostility toward the health insurance industry and wealthy executives in particular.”
Some on social media praised Mangione’s alleged crimes, and often shared their own anger at America’s private healthcare system.
Speaking to the BBC’s American partner CBS on Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the online rhetoric has been “extraordinarily alarming.”
“This speaks to what’s really bubbling here in this country,” he said. “And unfortunately we see that manifested in the violence, the domestic violent extremism that exists.”
