Luigi Mangione makes first court appearance since charges over CEO’s death
Mangione, 26, has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism.
The man accused of fatally shooting the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare in New York City and leading authorities on a five-day search has appeared in court for the first time since he was charged with state murder and terror offences.
Luigi Mangione, 26, has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism, in the December 4 killing of Brian Thompson outside a midtown Manhattan hotel.
The executive was ambushed and shot on a sidewalk as he walked to an investor conference.
He is being held in a Brooklyn jail alongside several other high-profile defendants, including Sean “Diddy” Combs and Sam Bankman-Fried.
Prosecutors have said the two cases will proceed on parallel tracks, with the state charges expected to go to trial first.
The maximum sentence for the state charges is life in prison without parole.
A February 24 hearing in Pennsylvania on charges of possessing an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police was cancelled.
In a statement posted on a website for his legal defence, Mangione said: “I am overwhelmed by — and grateful for — everyone who has written me to share their stories and express their support.
“Powerfully, this support has transcended political, racial, and even class divisions.”
The killing prompted some to voice their resentment at US health insurers, with Mangione attracting a cult following as a stand-in for frustrations over coverage denials and hefty medical bills.
A couple dozen members of the public were allowed into Friday’s hearing, including one wearing a “Free Luigi” scarf.
The killing has sent shock waves through the corporate world, rattling executives who say they saw a spike in threats.
Mangione was arrested in a Pennsylvania McDonald’s on December 9.
Police said he was carrying a gun that matched the one used in the shooting and a fake ID.
He was also carrying a notebook expressing hostility toward the health insurance industry and especially wealthy executives, authorities said.
Mr Thompson, a married father of two high-schoolers, had worked at the giant UnitedHealth Group for 20 years and became chief executive of its insurance arm in 2021.
Defence lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo argued at a December 23 hearing that “warring jurisdictions” had turned Mangione into a “human Ping-Pong ball”.
She accused New York City Mayor Eric Adams and other government officials of tainting the jury pool by bringing Mangione back to Manhattan in a choreographed spectacle involving heavily armed officers escorting him up a pier from a heliport.
Ms Friedman Agnifilo singled out Mr Adams’ comment on a local TV station that he wanted to be there to look “him in the eye and say, ‘you carried out this terroristic act in my city’.”
