'The target is insurance': Shooting suspect Luigi Mangione's notebook shows plan, feds say

In a newly unsealed complaint, federal prosecutors used writings in a notebook and a letter to accuse Luigi Mangione of planning his alleged attack against UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson for months.

Mangione, who is already facing state charges for the brazen attack on Thompson, appeared in a federal courthouse on Thursday in a move that appeared to shock his defense team.

Instead of appearing in the New York County Supreme Court for an arraignment on Thursday, Mangione, 26, was whisked into a federal courthouse after his extradition from Pennsylvania. Thompson was killed Dec. 4 in Midtown Manhattan, prompting a nearly weeklong manhunt that ended Dec. 9 when Mangione was nabbed by authorities at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Mangione ended the day Thursday in a federal prison in Brooklyn.

In "over three decades of prosecuting and defending criminal cases in New York, frankly, I've never seen anything like that what is happening here," Mangione's attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said in federal court. She said she thought even state prosecutors were surprised by the move.

He was charged with federal counts of murder using a firearm, two counts of stalking and an additional firearms offense. The counts are separate from the charges he received earlier this week from a New York grand jury of murder in the first degree in furtherance of terrorism, two counts of second-degree murder, including one as an act of terrorism, and several weapons charges.

Read the latest updates: Suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing faces federal murder, stalking charges

What was in Luigi Mangione's notebook?

FBI Special Agent Gary Cobb wrote in the criminal complaint that entries in a handwritten notebook Mangione had with him when he was arrested showed his "hostility towards the health insurance industry and wealthy executives in particular."

On a page marked with the date "8/15," the notebook said that "the details are finally coming together," Cobb wrote in the complaint. The full entries were not included in the complaint. Another excerpt said: "I’m glad – in a way – that I’ve procrastinated, bc it allowed me to learn more about (acronym for Company-1).”

The same entry said that "the target is insurance" because "it checks every box," Cobb wrote.

In another entry marked "10/22," the notebook said: "1.5 months. This investor conference is a true windfall . . . and – most importantly – the message becomes self evident." It also describes an intent to "wack" the CEO of an insurance company at an investor conference, Cobb said.

A letter addressed "To the Feds" included this excerpt: “I wasn’t working with anyone. This was fairly trivial: Some elementary social engineering, basic CAD, a lot of patience.”

“P.S. you can check serial numbers to verify this is all self-funded. My own ATM withdrawals.”

Cobb wrote that "CAD" is believed to refer to "computer-aided design."

Federal prosecutors say Mangione planned attack for months

The evidence shows that Mangione methodically planned the killing for months in an attempt to spark debate over insurance industry practices, federal prosecutors said in a statement.

"As alleged, Luigi Mangione traveled to New York to stalk and shoot Thompson in broad daylight in front of a Manhattan hotel, all in a grossly misguided attempt to broadcast Mangione’s views across the country," Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said.

The killing was premeditated and targeted, prosecutors said.

"Thompson was allegedly killed just because he held the position of chief executive officer of a health insurance company," Kim said.

Thompson's journey to top executive remembered

"He was one of the smartest kids, if not the smartest, and I would say the smartest person I've ever known," childhood friend Taylor Hill said. "He was probably smarter than half our teachers. And the thing with our teachers is they knew it, too."

Thompson, 50, was raised on a farm between the small town of Jewell, Iowa, and the even tinier town of Stanhope and graduated from the communities' shared South Hamilton High School in 1993. He departed for the University of Iowa and began working for UnitedHealthcare in 2004. He ascended through the ranks to head the Minneapolis-based health insurance company, one of the largest in the nation and was named CEO in April 2021.

He had multiple leadership positions at UnitedHealthcare over the years, having last held the title of chief executive officer of government programs, including overseeing the company's Medicare and retirement and community and state businesses.

"Brian was a highly respected colleague and friend to all who worked with him," UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of United Healthcare, said in a statement.

What happens next in cases against Luigi Mangione?

Federal prosecutors said Thursday that the state case is expected to proceed to trial before the federal case.

"I’ll let the Southern District of New York speak for itself about their plans, but I do want to note that speaking generally, we’ve had state prosecutions and federal prosecutions proceed as parallel matters, and we are in conversations with our law enforcement partners," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.

State officials have not said when Mangione's arraignment will be rescheduled. He's due back in federal court for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 18.

New charges bring chance of death penalty

New York state has abolished the death penalty, but one of Mangione's federal charges puts it back on the table if he's convicted.

Murder using a firearm carries a maximum sentence of death or life in prison, federal prosecutors said in a news release.

The other federal charges have a maximum of life in prison, and the firearms charge has a minimum of 30 years.

Why Mangione is accused of terrorism in state charges

Though the shooting doesn't fit into the typical boxes we imagine when we think of terrorism, state prosecutors have a good reason for including it in Mangione's murder charges, according to Barbara McQuade, a Michigan Law professor and former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan.

In New York, a murder is charged in the first degree only when certain factors are at play, including "furtherance of an act of terrorism." That involves an intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; influence the policy of a unit of government by intimidation or coercion; or affect the conduct of a unit of government by murder, assassination, or kidnapping.

More: Is CEO shooting suspect Luigi Mangione a terrorist? Charges may 'send a message.'

"I think they can make the case that the motive here was to make an example of someone who works in the insurance industry for their practices that harm consumers," McQuade said.

McQuade said prosecutors likely factored in public reaction to the shooting when they decided to add the terrorism component to the charges.

"There are people out there treating this guy as a hero. I think it is important to send a message that he is not a hero. He is not just a murderer; he's a terrorist, allegedly," McQuade said.

Contributing: John Bacon, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Luigi Mangione charges: Feds say notebook shows CEO shooting plans