Written by Jack Quinn and Luke Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally shooting health insurance executive Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street, pleaded not guilty on Monday to murder charges against him in New York state that classify him as a terrorist.
Mangione, 26, was escorted into Judge Gregory Caro's 13th-floor courtroom in New York State Criminal Court in lower Manhattan, with a court officer on each arm, and a procession of six officers following him. He was handcuffed and shackled, and wearing a burgundy jacket over a white collared shirt.
Mangione leaned toward the microphone and said “not guilty” when asked how he pleaded the 11-count indictment, which includes three counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism.
If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Mangione was transferred last Thursday from Pennsylvania to New York after he decided not to fight extradition. He was led from a helicopter in lower Manhattan by a large contingent of police officers and New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
His lawyer, Karen Friedman-Agnifilo, said during the hearing that this scene and other statements by government officials indicate that Mangione may not be able to get a fair trial.
“They treat it like some kind of political material, or some kind of show,” Agnifilo said. “He is not a symbol, he is a person who has the right to a fair trial,” he added.
Monday's arraignment was the second court appearance in New York for Maggione, 26.
He was arrested at a McDonald's (NYSE:) restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, five days after killing, before dawn on December 4, Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth Group's (NYSE: UnitedHealthcare) insurance unit, outside a hotel. In downtown Manhattan where the company was gathering for an investor conference.
Mangione also faces a four-count federal criminal complaint accusing him of stalking and killing Thompson. He has not yet been asked to enter a plea to these charges. U.S. Magistrate Katherine Parker ordered Mangione detained at a arraignment on December 19 on those charges.
“deny, defend, stop”
More than two dozen members of the public sat in the courtroom as Mangione was introduced.
A small group of protesters gathered outside the lower Manhattan courthouse in freezing temperatures to express their support for Mangione and anger at health care companies.
One person carried a sign that read, “Deny, Defend, Isolate,” words that police say were found etched on shell casings at the crime scene. These words reflect tactics that some accuse insurance companies of using to avoid paying claims.
While government officials condemned Thompson's killing, Mangione was honored as a folk hero by some Americans who decried the high costs of health care and the power insurance companies have to refuse to pay for certain medical treatments.
The federal charges would make him eligible for the death penalty, if the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan decides to pursue it.
The separate federal and state cases will proceed in parallel. Federal prosecutors said the state's case is currently expected to go to trial first.
Friedman Agnifilo, Mangione's lead attorney, said at the federal court hearing that the two sets of charges appeared to be based on conflicting theories. The state charges accuse Mangione of intending to “intimidate or coerce the civilian population” and influence policy, while the federal charges accuse him of stalking and killing an individual.
Friedman-Agnifilo said the two cases looked very different, and she asked prosecutors to clarify whether the cases would proceed. Federal prosecutor Dominique Gentile said Thursday's initial appearance was not the time to address those legal arguments.
According to the federal criminal complaint, police who arrested Mangione found a notebook containing several handwritten pages “expressing hostility toward the health insurance industry and wealthy executives in particular.”
A notebook entry dated October 22 allegedly described an intent to “bother” the insurance company's CEO at its investor conference. (This story has been corrected to refer to Brian Thompson as CEO of UnitedHealth, rather than CEO, in the headline and paragraph 1)
