Luigi Mangione, the suspect accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, pleaded not guilty to murder and weapons charges at the New York State Supreme Court today.
Mangione was charged with both first-and second-degree murder by the Manhattan district attorney’s office. He has also been charged with murder, stalking, and firearms offenses by the Southern District of New York, which he pleaded not guilty to last week.
“He’s a young man and he’s being treated like a human pingpong ball by two warring jurisdictions here,” Mangione’s attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo said.
"They are treating him like he is some sort of political fodder, some sort of spectacle," Agnifilo said. "He is not a symbol, he is someone who is afforded a right to a fair trial.”
She indicated New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ presence at Mangione’s extradition to New York could impact Mangione’s likelihood of a fair trial.
The charges against Mangione in New York, which include murder as an act of terrorism, could lead to life in prison without parole. The federal charges brought by the Southern District of New York could result in the death penalty.
According to the federal criminal complaint, Mangione’s notebook showed “hostility towards the health insurance industry and wealthy executives in particular.”
Mangione allegedly shot Thompson in Manhattan on December 4.
The suspect is being held in federal custody in Brooklyn, New York.