Luigi Mangione, the man accused of shooting health insurance executive Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street, pleaded not guilty to New York state murder charges on Monday, prompting calls that branded him a terrorist.
Mangione, 26, was led into Judge Gregory Caro’s 13th-floor courtroom at the New York State Criminal Court in lower Manhattan, accompanied by a court officer on each arm and followed by a procession of a half-dozen officers. He was in handcuffs and shackles and was wearing a burgundy sweater over a white collared shirt.
When Caro asked how he defended the 11-count indictment charging the murders as an act of terrorism and weapons crimes, Luigi Mangione leaned toward the microphone and said, “Not guilty.”
If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the insurance unit of UnitedHealth Group, was shot dead on December 4 outside a hotel in Midtown Manhattan where the company was gathering for an investor conference.
The brazen murder and the five-day manhunt that followed enthralled Americans. While public officials have condemned the killing, some Americans who condemn the enormous costs of health care and the power of insurance companies to refuse to pay for certain medical treatments have revered Mangione as a folk hero. Is.
Luigi Mangione was arrested on December 9 at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania. After deciding not to fight extradition last week, he was transferred to New York, where he was flown to a helicopter over lower Manhattan by a large group of police. official and New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
His attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said at Monday’s hearing that the showdown and other statements by public officials show that Mangione will not get a fair trial.
“They’re treating him like he’s some political fodder, some spectacle,” Agnifilo said. “He is not a symbol, he is a person who deserves a fair trial.”
Several dozen people gathered outside the courthouse in freezing temperatures to express support for Mangione and anger at health care companies.
One man held a sign bearing the words “Reject, defend, abandon”, a phrase that echoes a strategy used by insurers to avoid paying claims. Authorities say the words “deny,” “delay,” and “remove” were found written on bullet casings at the crime scene.
Kara Hay, a 42-year-old schoolteacher, said she believed Mangione was wrong to be charged with terrorism.
“Shooting a CEO doesn’t make him a terrorist, and I don’t feel intimidated,” said Hay, who held a sign reading “Innocent until proven guilty.”
After a 30-minute hearing, officers once again handcuffed Mangione and led him out of the courtroom. He is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal lockup in Brooklyn.
Caro scheduled Mangione’s next court appearance for Feb. 21.
dual state, federal affairs
Monday’s arraignment was the second court appearance in New York for Mangione, who also faces a four-count federal criminal complaint accusing him of stalking and killing Thompson.
He has not yet been asked to file a petition in that case. U.S. Magistrate Judge Katherine Parker ordered Mangione detained at a Dec. 19 hearing in Manhattan federal court.
If the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan decides to pursue it, the federal charges would make him eligible for the death penalty.
Separate federal and state cases will proceed in parallel. Federal prosecutors said the state case is currently expected to go to trial first.
At the hearing, Friedman Agnifilo said it was difficult to defend his client in the dual state and federal cases.
“He’s being treated like a human ping-pong ball between these two jurisdictions,” Friedman Agnifilo said.
He also said that the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, which brought the charges, has not turned over any evidence to the defense to help them prepare for trial, a process known as discovery. A prosecutor responded that the office would begin handing over evidence soon.
According to the federal criminal complaint, police who arrested Mangione found a notebook containing several handwritten pages that “expressed hostility toward the health insurance industry and particularly wealthy executives.”
A notebook entry dated October 22 described an alleged intention to “dissuade” an insurance company chief executive at an investor conference.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
