Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, pleaded not guilty Monday to state murder and terror charges in New York City.
Mangione, 26, is accused of fatally shooting Thompson in midtown Manhattan on the morning of Dec. 4. Mangione was indicted by a New York grand jury on 11 counts last week, including three counts of murder, two of which brand the shooting as “an act of terrorism.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said at a news conference last week that the attack was a “frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation.”
In a New York courtroom Monday, Mangione’s attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, expressed concern over her client’s ability to obtain a fair trial. She pointed to Mangione’s public “perp walks” — including the massive law enforcement escort for him after he waived extradition and arrived in New York on Thursday — and bristled at his treatment by state and federal prosecutors.
“He’s a young man, and he’s being treated like a human pingpong ball by two warring jurisdictions here,” she said in court. “They’re treating him like a human spectacle.”
Mangione was expected to be arraigned in state court upon his arrival to New York, but he was instead taken to federal court to face charges — including murder and stalking — that U.S. prosecutors unsealed that same day. Mangione could face the death penalty if convicted on the federal charges. The maximum sentence on the New York state charges is life in prison without parole. Mangione also faces two felony and three misdemeanor charges in Pennsylvania. His attorney there, Thomas Dickey, has said Mangione will plead not guilty to those charges as well. Mangione will remain in federal custody for now. His next court date in the New York state case is scheduled for Feb. 21.
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
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