The suspect accused of killing UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson has pleaded not guilty to murder and terrorism charges in New York state.
Luigi Mangione, 26, appeared in court Monday to be charged with 11 criminal charges, including murder, a terrorism crime.
He also faces federal stalking and murder charges that could lead to a death sentence.
Prosecutors say Mr. Mangione shot Mr. Thompson in midtown Manhattan before fleeing. Authorities then arrested him at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Mangione appeared in court Monday wearing a brown sweater, white collared shirt and khaki pants.
In addition to a long stream of journalists awaiting the suspect’s appearance, members of the public – almost all young women – were present at the court, some of whom told CBS, the BBC’s US partner, that they were there to show their support. .
Mr. Mangione faces 11 New York State criminal charges, including first degree murder and murder as a terrorism crime.
If convicted on all counts, he faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Federal prosecutors also separately charged Mr. Mangione with using a firearm to commit murder and with interstate harassment resulting in death. Both charges could make him eligible for the death penalty.
He has not yet entered a plea to these charges.
Prosecutors have said the federal and state cases will move forward in parallel with each other.
In court last week, Mr. Mangione’s lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said the two sets of charges appeared to be contradictory, with the State’s charges accusing him of seeking to “intimidate or coerce a population civil,” while federal charges focus on crimes against a civilian population. individual.
Ms Agnifilo said the overlapping cases were “confusing” and “very unusual”.
“I’ve never seen anything like this happen here” in 30 years of practicing law, she said.
In court Monday, she further told the judge that she believed statements from government officials — including New York City Mayor Eric Adams — made her “very concerned about my client’s right to a fair trial.”
“He’s a young man,” she said. “He’s being treated like a human ping-pong ball between warring jurisdictions here.”
Judge Gregory Carro said he was unable to control what happens outside of court, but he promised that Mr. 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 under high security last week.
Authorities believe Mr. Mangione carried out a targeted assassination of Mr. Thompson, pointing to evidence that he was angry at the U.S. health care industry.
The federal complaint notes that a notebook found in Mr. Mangione’s possession expressed “hostility toward the health insurance industry and wealthy executives in particular.”
Some on social media praised Mr. Mangione’s alleged crimes, often sharing their own anger at America’s private health care system.
Speaking to CBS on Sunday, the BBC’s US partner Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the online rhetoric was “extraordinarily alarming”.
“It speaks to what’s really boiling here in this country,” he said. “And unfortunately, we see that manifesting itself in the violence, the domestic violent extremism that exists.”
