The man accused of shooting and killing the CEO of UnitedHealthcare pleaded not guilty Monday to murder and terrorism charges as his attorney complained that statements from New York’s mayor would complicate a fair trial.
Luigi Mangione, 26, was handcuffed and seated in a Manhattan courtroom as he leaned into a microphone to enter his plea. The Manhattan district attorney formally indicted him last week on multiple counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism, in a federal case that will accompany his prosecution.
His first appearance in New York state court was dismissed by federal prosecutors who brought their own charges in the shooting. Federal charges 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 proceed in the same way, and the state charges are expected to go to trial first.
One of Mangione’s attorneys told the judge that government officials, including New York Mayor Eric Adams, have turned Mangione into a political villain, stripped him of his rights as a defendant and defamed the judge.
“I am very concerned about my client’s right to a fair trial,” said Karen Friedman Agnifilo.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have filed four new charges against alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO Luigi Mangione, including murder that carries the death penalty.
The city’s mayor and police chief stood amid a throng of heavily armed police last Thursday as Mangione was flown to Manhattan airport and slowly escorted up the pier after being extradited from Pennsylvania.
“I wanted to look him in the eye and say you did this terrorist act in my city – a city that New Yorkers love,” the mayor told a local television station.
Friedman Agnifilo accused federal and state prosecutors of advancing conflicting legal opinions, calling their approach confusing and highly unconventional. “You are treated like a human pingpong ball between the war zones here,” Msombuluko said.
Federal Court Judge Gregory Carro responded that he had no control over what happened outside the courtroom, but said he could guarantee that Mangione would receive 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.
Mangione was arrested at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s after a five-day manhunt, carrying a gun similar to the one used in the shooting and a fake ID, police said. He was also carrying a brochure showing hostility toward the health insurance industry, particularly wealthy executives, according to federal prosecutors.
Killings aimed at ‘instilling fear’: district attorney
At a news conference announcing the federal charges last week, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the use of the terrorism statute shows the severity of “targeted killings that are terrifying, well-planned, intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation.”
“In basic terms, this was a killing intended to incite fear,” he added.
Mangione is being held at Brooklyn State Prison along with other high-profile defendants, including Sean (Diddy) Combs and Sam Bankman-Fried.
Outside the courtroom where Mangione appeared Monday, a handful of fans chanted, “Free Luigi,” over the blare of a trumpet.
Natalie Monarrez, 55, a resident of Staten Island, said she joined the protest because she lost her mother and the money she had saved for her life due to the denial of insurance claims.
“No matter how difficult it was, it disrupted the conversation that we need to deal with this issue,” he said of the shooting. “Enough is enough, people are fed up.”
Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland family, has appeared estranged from family and friends in recent months. She regularly posts on social media about her struggles with back pain. He was never a client of UnitedHealthcare, according to the insurer.
Thompson, a married father of two high school-aged children, had worked at the giant UnitedHealth Group for 20 years and became CEO of its insurance division in 2021.
The killings have prompted some to express their anger at America’s health insurers, with Mangione acting as a proxy for frustration over denials of coverage and huge medical bills. It has also sent heat waves around the world, with senior officials saying they have received an increase in threats.
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