26-year-old Luigi Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state-level murder and terrorism charges in New York following the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson.
Appearing in court on Monday, Mangione was arraigned on 11 counts, including first-degree murder as a crime of terrorism, which carries a mandatory life sentence without parole if convicted. Parallel federal charges accuse him of using a firearm to commit murder and interstate stalking resulting in death, making him eligible for the death penalty.
Prosecutors allege that Mangione targeted Thompson out of anger toward the U.S. healthcare industry, citing a notebook found in Mangione’s possession expressing hostility toward wealthy health executives. Mangione was apprehended at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s after a nationwide manhunt.
Defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo criticised the overlapping state and federal charges as “confusing” and accused authorities of politicising the case, describing Mangione as a “human ping-pong ball” between jurisdictions.
She raised concern over her client’s ability to receive a fair trial, pointing to public statements by officials and the high-profile nature of his transfer to New York under heavy security.
Prosecutors argued there was substantial evidence against Mangione, while Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas highlighted the concerning online praise for the alleged crimes, attributing it to escalating domestic extremism. Mangione remains in federal custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn as both cases proceed concurrently.
Luigi Magione pleads not guilty in court today. pic.twitter.com/aXxIddrnmy
— Theinsidedrop (@theinsidedrop) December 23, 2024
“Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas highlighted the concerning online praise for the alleged crimes, attributing it to escalating domestic extremism.”
And yet CBS has run a story about former mossad spies gloating about their pager and walkie talkie attacks against Hezbollah, which gets repeated through western media partners like it isn’t terrorism.