Luigi Mangione Indicted for Murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
Luigi Mangione was officially indicted in New York City on multiple charges connected to the killing of UnitedHelathcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The office for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced the grand jury indictment Tuesday, Dec. 17, just over a week after Mangione was first arrested and charged. The new indictment charges Mangione with first-degree murder “in furtherance of terrorism,” as well as two counts of second-degree murder, one of which is charged as “killing as an act of terrorism.”
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Mangione was also charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, four counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, and one count of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree.
If convicted, Mangione would face a max penalty of life in prison without parole.
In a statement, Bragg accused Mangione of carrying out the “brazen, targeted and fatal shooting” of Thompson, adding: “This type of premeditated, targeted gun violence cannot and will not be tolerated.”
Karen Friedman Agnifilo, the lawyer Mangione has retained to represent him, did not immediately return Rolling Stone’s request for comment.
Mangione is currently being held at a correctional facility in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania after he was arrested last week at a McDonald’s in Altoona. He has also been arraigned in Pennsylvania on firearm and forgery felony charges. His attorney in the Pennsylvania case, Thomas Dickey, has said Mangione would plead not guilty to the charges in both cases.
Mangione is accused of killing Thompson in the early hours of Wednesday, Dec. 4, outside a New York hotel. The CEO was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, and Mangione was allegedly able to flee the scene and eventually leave New York City. He was arrested in Altoona five days later, with police recovering a 9-mm “ghost gun” reportedly made by a 3D printer and a fake New Jersey ID he allegedly used at a New York City hostel.
Mangione also reportedly had on him a handwritten manifesto that criticized health care companies and the ways they prioritize profits over patient care. The contents of the document (which was eventually leaked in full) appeared to comport with one of the most striking pieces of evidence left at the crime scene: discarded shell casings with the words “Deny” and “Depose” carved on them, and a bullet with the word “Delay” written on it — a possible allusion to terms used by health insurance companies to avoid paying claims.
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