The Latest: Luigi Mangione appears in federal court in NYC as he faces new charges
Luigi Mangione, a suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is escorted by police Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, in New York. AP Photo/Pamela Smith
By Associated Press
December 19, 2024
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The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO faces new federal charges of murder and stalking, escalating the case after his earlier indictment on state charges.
Luigi Mangione agreed to return to New York to face a state murder charge Thursday at a morning court appearance in Pennsylvania where he was arrested after five days on the run.
Here’s the latest:
The hearing has adjourned after 15 minutes
Mangione stood with his hands in front of him at his waist as his lawyers spoke with him. He nodded to one of them as U.S. Marshal deputies took him out a side door.
Mangione said he understands what he’s being accused of
Again he leaned into the microphone on the defense table and quickly said “yes.”
Mangione did not make a bail application and will remain detained
Mangione’s demeanor in court
Mangione looked straight again, stoic as U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker talked through his rights as a defendant.
He nodded when the judge said he has a right to a lawyer at all proceedings.
He leaned forward to the microphone and said “yes” when asked if he understands his rights, and again when asked if he’s seen a copy of the complaint against him.
Luigi Mangione has entered the courtroom in Manhattan to face new federal charges
He is wearing a dark quarter zip and khaki-colored pants. He held his uncuffed hands in front of him at his waist before sitting between his attorneys.
He’s shackled at the ankles.
The federal complaint also includes photos
The federal complaint contained color photographs of the shooter pointing his gun at the UnitedHealthcare executive’s back just before firing and pictures of a fake New Jersey driver’s license and the widely distributed photograph of his smiling face inside a hostel where he stayed in New York.
Other pictures showed the alleged shooter walking on a city sidewalk with a backpack and riding an electric bicycle down a street on his way to the shooting scene followed by pictures of him after the shooting no longer wearing a backpack as he rode the bicycle and later donning a mask inside a taxi. The complaint also included a post-arrest full-body picture of Mangione and a photo of a weapon authorities say he possessed that was described as “consistent with the weapon” used to kill the executive.
Luigi Mangione, a suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is escorted off of a helicopter by police, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, in New York. Brooklyn can be seen in the background. AP Photo/Pamela Smith
A helicopter carrying Luigi Mangione has landed in lower Manhattan
After landing, he was walked up a pier, escorted by people wearing FBI-NYPD task force jackets and officers with assault rifles.
He was then put into a waiting van that left for the courthouse.
One of the federal charges against Mangione, murder by firearm, could bring the possibility of the death penalty
Federal prosecutors haven’t said whether they’ll pursue such a punishment. The state charges Mangione faces carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Mangione’s notebook described intent to ‘wack’ an insurance company CEO, federal complaint says
The newly unsealed complaint quotes some of the writings in a notebook prosecutors say was found on Mangione, expressing “hostility towards the health insurance industry and wealthy executives in particular.”
An entry from Aug. 15 said “the target is insurance” because “it checks every box,” according to the filing, while an Oct. 22 entry “describes an intent to ‘wack’ the CEO of one of the insurance companies at its investor conference.”
“This investor conference is a true windfall … and — most importantly — the message becomes self evident,” the notebook entry read, according to the complaint.
Federal authorities file murder, stalking and weapons charges against suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing
The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO faces new federal charges of murder, stalking and weapons charges, according to a complaint unsealed Thursday.
Luigi Mangione agreed to return to New York to face a state murder charge Thursday at a morning court appearance in Pennsylvania where he was arrested last week after five days on the run. It was unclear when he would be in court on the federal charges.
The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO will face new federal charges
The federal charges against Luigi Mangione remain sealed, but several people familiar with the matter say the case will be made public in the afternoon. The people spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to release information publicly.
A courtroom had been set aside in a Manhattan federal courthouse for Mangione’s appearance and an overflow courtroom was designated as a location for people to watch the proceeding on video in the event there are more people than can fit in the courtroom.
— Larry Neumeister and Michael R. Sisak
DA Peter Weeks explains what comes next
“Because of the defendant’s reversal today and decision to waive his preliminary hearing as well as his extradition, certainly we believe it’s in the interests of justice to turn him over to the New York City police department and Manhattan district attorney’s office, which we did,” the Blair County district attorney told reporters after the hearing in Pennsylvania. “He is now in their custody. He will go forth with New York to await trial or prosecution for his homicide and related charges in New York. We intend to keep our case active and we intend to essentially revisit the case when the defendant is available for prosecution in Blair County.”
Asked at the news conference if he was aware of any planned federal charges against Mangione, Weeks said: “I have not spoken to any federal officials about Mr. Mangione absent casual conversation with a few FBI agents the Monday he was apprehended, and they certainly didn’t discuss any of that with me.”
The district attorney in Blair County, Pennsylvania, Pete Weeks, speaks after the hearing
“Violence to make your point is never acceptable in our country, in our system of justice,” Weeks said.
Mangione was taken out of the courthouse by a group of NYPD officers and put into a waiting SUV
He appeared to glance at a TV camera but did not say anything.
The black SUV then drove off.
Luigi Mangione agrees to extradition, will return to New York
In court in Pennsylvania, Mangione and his lawyer, Tom Dickey, pored over documents, with Mangione occasionally nodding. He was immediately ushered out of the courtroom at the conclusion of the hearings.
Who is Mangione’s attorney?
Luigi Mangione has added a prominent defense lawyer to his legal team as Manhattan prosecutors work to return him from Pennsylvania to face a murder charge.
Mangione will be represented by Karen Friedman Agnifilo, who was a high-ranking deputy in the Manhattan district attorney’s office for years before entering private practice.
Friedman Agnifilo’s law firm, Agnifilo Intrater LLP, confirmed in a statement late Friday that she had been retained to represent Mangione. The firm said she will not be commenting on the case at this time.
TV trucks line the street in front of the courthouse
And reporters are waiting in line to get inside the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania.
A few supporters of Mangione are also in line, holding signs that say “Luigi the people hear you,” “Murder for profit is terrorism” and “Free Luigi.” One man said he came from Ohio to attend the hearings
How New York prosecutors used a terrorism law in the charges against Luigi Mangione
New York prosecutors are using a 9/11-era anti-terrorism law in their case against the man charged with gunning down UnitedHealthcare’s CEO outside a midtown Manhattan hotel.
If it sounds like an unusual application of a terrorism law, it’s not the first time the statute has been applied to a case that wasn’t about cross-border extremism or a plot to kill masses of people.
Mangione is jailed on other charges in Pennsylvania, where he is scheduled to appear at an extradition hearing Thursday that could clear the way for him to be brought to New York.
The preliminary hearing on forgery and firearms charges and consideration of a fugitive from justice complaint against Luigi Mangione may not take long.
He is expected to waive extradition, clearing the way for his return to New York, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The person was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the case and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.
Court officials said Mangione will attend the early morning proceedings at the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg. If a judge authorizes his extradition, Mangione would then be brought to New York, where he could appear in state court for arraignment Thursday afternoon or Friday.
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