The man accused of shooting the CEO of UnitedHealthcare pleaded not guilty Monday to murder and terrorism charges while his lawyer complained that statements from the New York mayor would make it difficult for him 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 preempted 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 deeply 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 the warring jurisdictions here.”
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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.
At a news conference announcing the state charges last Tuesday, Manhattan Rep. Alvin Bragg said the application of the terrorism law reflected the seriousness of “a terrifying, well-planned and targeted murder that was intended to shock, interest and intimidate.”
He added: “In its most basic terms, this was a killing intended to incite terror.” “And we saw that reaction.”
Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Mangione’s attorney, accused federal and state prosecutors of presenting conflicting legal theories. In Federal Court last week, she described their approach as “highly confusing” and “highly unusual.”
Mangione is being held in a federal prison in Brooklyn alongside several other high-profile defendants, including Sean “Diddy” Combs and Sam Bankman-Fried.
Mangione was extradited from Pennsylvania on Thursday and rushed to New York City, where he was seen wearing an orange jumpsuit as he was led away from a helicopter by heavily armed police officers and New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
Adams said he hoped 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 — the city that New Yorkers love,” the mayor told one local resident. TV station. “I wanted to be there to show the symbolism of that.”
Mangione, an Ivy League graduate who comes from a prominent Maryland family, appeared to isolate himself from his 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 shockwaves through the corporate world, worrying executives who say they have received a spike in threats.
& Edition 2024 The Canadian Press
