The suspect accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare’s CEO was photographed cracking a huge grin in court and later in the back of a police vehicle after pleading not guilty to state charges.
Luigi Mangione returned to court on Monday, smiling from ear to ear alongside his defense team, after being charged with 11 criminal counts in connection with Brian Thompson’s death on December 4.
Mangione, who was handcuffed and shackled at the wrists and ankles, emerged from the downtown Manhattan Criminal Courthouse shortly before 9:30 a.m.
Mangione entered the courtroom wearing a burgundy sweater over a white collared shirt, khaki pants, and orange prison sneakers, escorted by New York detectives.
Mangione’s attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, expressed concern about her client’s ability to receive a fair trial.
“He’s a young man, and he’s being treated like a human ping-pong ball by two warring jurisdictions here,” the lawyer said.
“They’re treating him like a human spectacle.”
Agnifilo emphasized Mayor Eric Adam’s presence on Thursday at the Wall Street heliport, where dozens of armed New York police officers and FBI agents awaited Mangione’s arrival after being extradited from Pennsylvania.
“What was the New York City mayor doing at this press conference – that is utterly political,” says the lawyer.
“The New York City mayor should know more than anyone the presumption of innocence.”
However, Judge Gregory Carro assured Agnifilo that Mangione would have a fair trial, saying, “We will carefully select a jury.”
In frigid temperatures, dozens of supporters gathered outside the courthouse, holding signs reading “Free Luigi” and anti-insurance.
The demonstrators held up cardboard signs that read “Health over wealth” and “Deny, defense, depose” – the three words prosecutors claim Mangione engraved on the shell casings of three bullets used to assassinate Thompson.
According to WCBS-TV, several young women lined up to enter the courthouse to attend Mangione’s arraignment minutes before the hearing began.
Some of the women, who are thought to be in their twenties, told the outlet that it was “the first time they’ve come for a court case,” and they were there to support Mangione.
According to ABC News, approximately two dozen women have gained access to seats in the courtroom gallery.
The majority of the women wore face masks, and few were 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 appearance in state court is scheduled for February 21.
If convicted of the state charges, he faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
FEDERAL INDICTMENT
Mangione was immediately taken into custody after federal prosecutors unsealed a four-count indictment against the 26-year-old Ivy League graduate.
According to the indictment, on the morning of December 4, Mangione waited for Thompson for about an hour near the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan.
When Mangione saw Thompson, he fired several shots before fleeing on foot to West 55th Street, where he boarded an electric bicycle and rode to Central Park.
A massive five-day manhunt for the assassin began, 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 presenting Altoona police with a fake New Jersey identification bearing the name Mark Rosario, which investigators claimed was the same document he used to check into an Upper West Side hostel days before Thompson’s murder.
According to the federal indictment, the suspect was also in possession of a backpack containing a loaded 9mm pistol with a silencer, a notebook, and thousands of dollars in cash.
‘CALCULATED PLAN’
“The Notebook contained several handwritten pages that express hostility towards the health insurance industry and wealthy executives in particle,” according to court records.
Prosecutors said Mangione had planned Thompson’s assassination as early as August 15.
“The details are finally coming together, and I’m glad – in a way – that I’ve procrastinated,” Mangione allegedly wrote, claiming that the delay had allowed him to learn more about UnitedHealthcare.
He allegedly “targeted insurance” because it “checks every box.”
In an entry dated October 22, Mangione allegedly wrote, “1.5 months. This investor conference is a true windfall. And, most importantly, the message became clear.”
He also stated his intention to “wack” the CEO of one of the insurance companies at the investor conference, whom prosecutors identified as Thompson.
Thompson was on his way to an investor conference at the Hilton Midtown when he was assassinated.
According to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Mangione committed the “brazen, targeted, fatal shooting” with the intent to instill terror.
“This was a frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock, attention, and intimidation,” Bragg said during a press conference on December 17.
“It happened in one of our city’s busiest areas, endangering the safety of locals and tourists alike, including commenters and businesspeople just starting their day.
“This was a killing intended to instill fear.
“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 informed ABC News that the state will “proceed in parallel with any federal case.”
If convicted of murdering Mangione with a firearm, he faces the death penalty.
However, federal prosecutors have not stated whether they intend to seek the death penalty against Mangione.
He is due in federal court on January 18.
Timeline of Brian Thompson’s murder
BRIAN Thompson, UnitedHealthcare’s 50-year-old CEO, was shot to death in Manhattan in an execution-style killing.
Here’s everything we know about Thompson’s murder thus far.
Monday, December 2: Thompson travels from Minnesota to New York City for an investor conference in Midtown Manhattan.
Thompson is murdered by a masked shooter while walking from his hotel across the street to the New York Hilton Midtown on Wednesday, December 4, at 6:45 a.m. The execution was captured on surveillance, and the suspect was seen biking away toward Central Park. Cops begin a citywide search for the assassin.
11:30 a.m. – Police released disturbing images of the execution, offered a reward for information, and issued a desperate plea to New Yorkers to keep an eye out.
12:00 p.m. – Thompson’s estranged wife, Paulette, revealed that her husband was threatened before being shot.
2:45 p.m. – Cops released additional eerie images of the suspect ordering at Starbucks, which partially revealed his face. The U.S. Sun confirmed that the coffee shop was only two blocks away from the shooting, but it is unclear when he visited.
December 5, 6 a.m. – According to reports, the assassin left behind live rounds and shell casings with the words “deny,” “dispose,” and “defend” engraved on them. These words are reminiscent of the book Delay, Deny, Defend, which examines the failings of the healthcare industry. The author of the book made no comment on the reports.
8 a.m. – Police raid a hostel on New York City’s Upper West Side, where the suspect is believed to have stayed. It is believed he wore a mask for the majority of his time there.
11 a.m. A person of interest in Thompson’s murder is pictured. He is wearing a hood in the photo, but his entire face can be seen breaking into a beaming grin. As of now, no arrests have been made in connection with the investigation.
Afternoon: Law enforcement confirms that the suspect arrived in New York City on a Greyhound bus on November 24. It has also been confirmed that the suspect dropped a burner cell phone near the shooting scene.
December 6, 3 p.m. Police say they believe the killer fled New York City via interstate bus. They release additional surveillance footage showing him taking a taxi to the George Washington Bridge Bus Station.
On December 9, Luigi Mangione, 26, was arrested as a “strong person of interest” at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He was carrying a three-page manifesto, fake identification, and a gun similar to the one used in Thompson’s murder.
