THE suspect accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare’s CEO was pictured cracking a huge grin in the back of a police vehicle after pleading not guilty to state charges.
Luigi Mangione returned to court on Monday, where he was seen smiling from ear to ear beside his defense team after being arraigned on 11 criminal counts for the killing of Brian Thompson on December 4.
Mangione, who was handcuffed and shackled by the wrists and ankles, emerged at the downtown Manhattan Criminal Courthouse just before 9:30 am.
Wearing a burgundy sweater over a white collared shirt and khaki pants with orange prison sneakers, Mangione was flanked by New York detectives who escorted him inside the courtroom.
Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Mangione’s attorney, raised concerns about her client’s ability to obtain a fair trial.
“He’s a young man, and he’s being treated like a human ping-pong ball by two warring jurisdictions here,” Agnifilo argued.
“They’re treating him like a human spectacle.”
Agnifilo underscored Mayor Eric Adam‘s presence on Thursday at the Wall Street heliport, where dozens of armed New York police officers and FBI officials waited for Mangione to arrive after being extradited from Pennsylvania.
“What was the New York City mayor doing at this press conference – that is utterly political,” the attorney said.
“The New York City mayor should know more than anyone the presumption of innocence.”
However, Judge Gregory Carro assured Agnifilo that Mangione would receive a fair trial, saying, “We will carefully select a jury.”
Dozens of supporters gathered outside the courthouse in frigid temperatures, holding up “Free Luigi” and anti-insurance signs.
The demonstrators held up cardboard signs that read “Health over wealth” and “Deny, defense, depose” – the three words prosecutors said Mangione engraved on the shell casings of three bullets he used to assassinate Thompson, 50.
Moments before the court hearing began, several young women waited in line to enter the courthouse to attend Mangione’s arraignment, according to WCBS-TV.
Some of the women, who are believed to be in their 20s, told the outlet it was “the first time they’ve come for a court case,” and they were there to support Mangione.
About two dozen women gained access to seats in the courtroom gallery, according to ABC News.
Most of the women wore face masks, and few appeared visibly emotional.
“This is a grave injustice, and that’s why people are here,” one of the women told ABC News outside the courthouse.
Mangione’s next court date in state court is scheduled for February 21.
He is facing a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted on the state charges.
Mangione was immediately placed in federal custody after federal prosecutors unsealed a four-count indictment against the 26-year-old Ivy League graduate.
Federal prosecutors said that on the morning of December 4, Mangione waited for Thompson near the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan for approximately one hour, the indictment read.
When Mangione saw Thompson, he fired several shots before fleeing on foot to West 55th Street, where he mounted an electric bicycle and rode towards Central Park.
A large-scale five-day manhunt for the assassin ensued and ended when police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 280 miles west of the Hilton hotel, received a tip from a McDonald’s employee who recognized Mangione from the shooter’s wanted posters in New York.
Mangione was arrested after he presented Altoona police with a fake New Jersey identification with the name Mark Rosario, which investigators said was the same document he used to check into a hostel in the Upper West Side days before Thompson’s murder.
The suspect also had a backpack in his possession, which contained a loaded 9mm pistol equipped with a silencer, a notebook, and thousands of dollars in cash, according to the federal indictment.
“The Notebook contained several handwritten pages that express hostility towards the health insurance industry and wealthy executives in particle,” court filings read.
Prosecutors said Mangione had been planning out Thompson’s assassination as early as August 15.
“The details are finally coming together, The details are finally coming together, and I’m glad – in a way – that I’ve procrastinated,” Mangione allegedly wrote, saying the delay helped him learn more about UnitedHealthcare.
He also allegedly “targeted insurance” because it “checks every box.”
In an October 22 entry, Mangione allegedly wrote, “1.5 months. This investor conference is a true windfall… and – most importantly – the message became self evident.”
He also described his intent to “wack” the CEO of one of the insurance companies at the investor conference, which prosecutors said was Thompson.
Thompson was on his way to an investor conference being held at the Hilton hotel on the day he was assassinated.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Mangione committed the “brazen, targeted, fatal shooting” to invoke terror.
“This was a frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock, and attention, and intimidation,” Bragg said at a press conference on December 17.
“It occurred in one of the most bustling parts of our city, threatening the safety of local residents and tourists alike – commenters and business people just starting out on their day.
“This was a killing to invoke terror.
“This was not an ordinary killing, not to suggest that any killing ordinary, but this was extraordinary, and the New York State Legislature has set out both the paths, both the murder one and murder two, and this, we allege, is squarely within those statutes which talk about intending to do exactly what we saw happen here.”
Bragg’s office told ABC News the state will “proceed in parallel with any federal case.”
The murder through the use of a firearm against Mangione makes him eligible for the death penalty if convicted.
However, federal prosecutors have not stated if they will seek the death penalty against Mangione.
He is due in federal court on January 18.
BRIAN Thompson, the 50-year-old CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot to death in Manhattan in an execution-like killing.
Here is everything we know about Thompson’s murder so far.
Monday, December 2 – Thompson travels from his home in Minnesota to New York City for an investor conference in Midtown Manhattan.
Wednesday, December 4, 6:45 am – Thompson walks from his hotel across the street to the New York Hilton Midtown and is murdered by a masked shooter. The execution was caught on surveillance, and the suspect was seen biking away toward Central Park. Cops spark a citywide search for the assassin.
11:30 am – Cops released disturbing images of the execution, offered a reward for information, and made a desperate plea for New Yorkers to keep their eyes out.
12:00 pm – Thompson’s estranged wife Paulette revealed her husband had been threatened before he was shot.
2:45 pm – Cops released more eerie images of the suspect ordering at Starbucks that partially revealed his face. The U.S. Sun confirmed the coffee shop was just two blocks away from the shooting, but it’s unclear when he stopped by.
December 5, 6 am – Reports claim the words “deny,” “dispose,” and “defend” were engraved on live rounds and shell casings left behind by the assassin. These words echo the book Delay, Deny, Defend, which is about the failings of the healthcare industry. The author of the book had no comment on the reports.
8 am– Cops raid a hostel in the Upper West Side of New York City where the suspect is said to have stayed. It’s believed he wore a mask for most of the time he was there.
11 am – A person of interest in Thompson’s murder is pictured. He’s wearing a hood in the photo, but his full face could be seen breaking into a beaming grin. Still, no arrests have been made in the investigation.
Afternoon – Law enforcement confirms the suspect arrived in New York City on a Greyhound bus on November 24. It’s also confirmed that the suspect dropped a burner cell phone near the scene of the shooting.
December 6, 3 pm – Police announce they believe the killer has left New York City via interstate bus. They release more surveillance footage that shows him taking a taxi to the George Washington Bridge Bus Station.
December 9 – Luigi Mangione, 26, is arrested as a “strong person of interest” at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He was carrying a three-page manifesto, fake IDs, and a gun similar to the one used in Thompson’s murder.
