Healthcare CEO Shooter Suspect Luigi Mangione Pleads Not Guilty To State Murder & Terror Charges In NY — Update
UPDATED: Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty Monday to murder and terror charges in a Manhattan court in the killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Mangione, dressed in civilian clothes, entered the croutroom in shackles under heavy guard. For the first time he formally addressed the charges, pleading “not guilty” to the 11 counts in the indictment, including one of murder in the first degree and two of murder in the second degree, along with other weapon and forgery charges.
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A Manhattan grand jury upgraded charges against Mangione last week to include first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism.
The next court date has been set for February 21.
PREVIOUS, Dec. 19: Luigi Mangione, the suspect indicted in the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, agreed to be extradited to New York during a court hearing in Pennsylvania, and is being flown back to NYC today.
Mangione faces 11 counts in New York, including one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder, along with other weapon and forgery charges, according to the indictment.
“This is in his best interest, and we’re moving forward,” Mangione’s defense attorney Thomas Dickey said.
Federal charges against Mangione also are expected to be unsealed later today.
Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 9, five days after the shooting death of Thompson. He was charged in Pennsylvania with felony counts of forgery and carrying a firearm without a license, and a misdemeanor count of using fraudulent identification.
PREVIOUS, Dec. 17: Charged with a premeditated murder today by New York prosecutors, Luigi Mangione faces life behind bars without parole if found guilty.
“We allege that Luigi Mangione carried out the brazen, targeted and fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in announced the 11 counts overall in the newly released indictment.
Read the indictment of Luigi Mangione here.
“This type of premeditated, targeted gun violence cannot and will not be tolerated, and my office has been working day in and day out to bring the defendant to justice,” the DA added. “I want to extend my heartfelt prayers to Mr. Thompson’s loved ones as they continue to grieve. This ongoing investigation is the product of an incredible partnership at all levels with the NYPD, and I want to thank Commissioner Tisch and the prosecutors and detectives who worked collaboratively to apprehend Mr. Mangione. He is now charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with three counts of murder and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison without parole.”
Fighting extradition to the Empire State from Pennsylvania, where he was arrested on December 9 after a national manhunt, a masked Mangione gunned down Thompson on the street outside his NYC hotel in the early morning of December 4.
Since his arrest, as evident on late-night TV and social media, the alleged shooter has become an sickening cultural sensation as both a sex symbol and an advocate against alleged abuses by the heath insurance industry.
DA Bragg is expected to give a press conference this afternoon with New York City Police Department Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch on the just-released charges. In what is sure to be widely covered by cable news and the broadcast networks, Bragg is also anticipated to put emphasis on the ghost gun Mangione used and the danger of the proliferation of the technology that produces them.
3rd UPDATE, Dec 10 PM: The man charged with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan last week appeared at an extradition hearing Tuesday in Hollidaysburg, PA.
Luigi Mangione, 26, was again denied bail at the court hearing and will remain at Huntingdon State Correctional Institution in Pennsylvania. The court has given him 14 days to file for writ of habeas corpus, and a hearing will be scheduled if he does.
At the brief hearing, defense lawyer Thomas Dickey told the court that Mangione will not waive extradition to New York but instead wants a hearing on the issue. Prosecutors have 30 days to obtain a governor’s warrant.
Mangione strugged with deputies as he entered the courthouse Tuesday, and could be heard yelling, in part, “it’s completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people. It’s lived experience!”
Mangione was charged with murder hours after he was arrested Monday at a McDonald’s in Altoona , PA, in the Manhattan killing of Thompson, who was gunned down Dec. 4 in what police described as a “brazen targeted attack” outside a hotel where his company was holding an investor meeting.
A law enforcement bulletin obtained by The Associated Press said Mangione likely was motivated by what he called “parasitic” health insurance companies and a disdain for corporate greed.
2nd UPDATE, Monday, 8:06 PM: Manhattan prosecutors have formally charged the man arrested in Pennsylvania earlier today in the fatal shooting a week ago of a health insurance executive with first-degree murder.
Alleged to have shot to death UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson at close range in the early hours of December 4 on the street outside his NYC hotel, Luigi Mangione is facing one count of murder, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, one count of second-degree possession of a forged document, and one count of third-degree criminal possession of a firearm. If found guilty of the charges from the Manhattan DA’s office, the 26-year-old could be behind bars for the rest of his life.
Not long before the charges in the Empire State were filed, police in Altoona, PA put out a booking photo of Mangione.
Mangione remains in the custody of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections following his arrest at a McDonald’s earlier Monday.
1st UPDATED, 4:30 PM: Luigi Mangione, suspected in the killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was ordered held without bail at his arraignment this afternoon in a Hollidaysburg, PA court.
Mangione, who did not enter a plea, faces several charges, including one felony count of forgery and one felony count of carrying a firearm without a license, according to media reports.
Police arrested the 26-year-old Mangione this morning after a tip that he was spotted at a McDonald’s in Altoona, PA.
PREVIOUSLY, 11:49 AM: Just five days after United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot dead on the early morning streets of New York City, a “strong person of interest” has been detained on gun charges in Pennsylvania.
The individual was identified by law enforcement as 26-year-old Luigi Mangione. The individual sought by police across the nation and long suspected to be outside NYC, Mangione was picked up Monday at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, PA. According to reports, an employee at the fast-food joint recognized the suspect from a security cam photo of his face that was widely released by cops and others last week and distributed to media outlets.
CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and BBC as well as many online platforms immediately went to coverage of the case and all followed a live news conference by NYC Mayor Eric Adams providing further information on the arrest and “ongoing” investigation.
Mangione had in his possession a handwritten manifesto of sorts decrying the high cost of healthcare in America, the low standard of low healthcare overall in America and corporate profits from such care.
“Upon further investigation, officers recovered a firearm on his person, along with a suppressor, both consistent with the weapon used in the murder,” NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at the news conference.
“They also recovered clothing, including a mask consistent with those worn by our wanted individual,” Tisch added. “Also recovered was a fraudulent New Jersey ID matching the ID our suspect used to check into his New York City hostel before the shooting incident,” along with a U.S. passport.
As one Fox news commentator said, there was “so much evidence” on the suspect in the CEO’s murder.
Thompson, 50, was killed last Wednesday in what police called a “brazen, targeted” attack as he walked alone to the Hilton from a nearby hotel, where UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, was holding its annual investor conference, police said.
The FBI announced late last week that it was offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. That was in addition to a reward of up to $10,000 that the NYPD had offered.
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