Luigi Mangione is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (AP: Curtis Means)
In short:
Luigi Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state murder and terror charges.
Mr Mangione is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel.
What's next?
Prosecutors say the state case is expected to run parallel to a federal prosecution.
Alleged CEO killer Luigi Mangione has pleaded not guilty to murder and terror charges in a state case that is expected to run parallel to a federal prosecution.
Luigi Mangione was shackled and seated in a Manhattan court when he leaned over to a microphone to enter his plea.
Mr Mangione is accused of shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4 outside a Manhattan hotel.
Federal and state charges
The Manhattan district attorney charged him last week with multiple counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism.
Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty to state murder and terror charges in a Manhattan court. (AP Photo: Seth Wenig)
The 26-year-old posted frequently in online forums about his struggles with back pain, but he was never a UnitedHealthcare client, according to the insurer.
Mr Mangione's initial appearance in New York's state trial court was pre-empted by federal prosecutors bringing their own charges over the shooting.
The federal charges could carry the possibility of the death penalty, while the maximum sentence for the state charges is life in prison without parole.
Prosecutors have said the two cases will proceed on parallel tracks, with the state charges expected to go to trial first.
Concerns over a fair trial
One of Mr Mangione's attorneys, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, told a judge that government officials, including New York Mayor Eric Adams, had turned Mr Mangione into a political pawn.
Ms Friedman Agnifilo said this had robbed him of his rights as a defendant and tainted the jury pool.
"I am very concerned about my client's right to a fair trial," she said.
Mr Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch stood among a throng of heavily armed officers last Thursday when Mr Mangione was flown to Manhattan after being extradited from Pennsylvania.
Ms Friedman Agnifilo said police turned Mr Mangione's return to New York into a choreographed spectacle.
"He was on display for everyone to see in the biggest staged perp walk I've ever seen in my career," she said.
"It was absolutely unnecessary."
Ms Friedman Agnifilo says she is concerned about her client's right to a fair trial. (AP: Stefan Jeremiah)
In a statement, Mr Adams's spokesperson, Kayla Mamelak Altus, said supporting law enforcement and "sending the message to New Yorkers that violence and vitriol have no place" in the city is "who Mayor Eric Adams is to his core".
"The cold-blooded assassination of Brian Thompson — a father of two — and the terror it infused on the streets of New York City for days has since been sickeningly glorified, shining a spotlight on the darkest corners of the internet," Ms Mamelak Altus said.
Ms Friedman Agnifilo also accused federal and state prosecutors of advancing conflicting legal theories and said their approach was confusing and highly unusual.
"He is being treated like a human ping-pong ball between warring jurisdictions here," she said.
State trial court judge Gregory Carro said he had little control over what happened outside the courtroom, but could guarantee Mr Mangione would receive a fair trial.
Mr Mangione was arrested in a Pennsylvania McDonald's after a five-day search, carrying a gun that matched the one used in the shooting and a fake ID, according to police.
Federal prosecutors argue he was carrying a notebook expressing hostility toward the health insurance industry and especially wealthy executives.
Last week, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the application of the terrorism law reflected the severity of a "frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation."
"In its most basic terms, this was a killing that was intended to evoke terror," he added.
Mr Mangione is being held in a Brooklyn federal jail alongside several other high-profile defendants, including Sean "Diddy" Combs and Sam Bankman-Fried.
Supporters outside court
Supporters waited for the arrival of Luigi Mangione at Manhattan Criminal Court. (AP: Stefan Jeremiah)
Outside the courthouse, a few dozen supporters chanted "Free Luigi" over the blare of a trumpet.
The killing has prompted some to voice their resentment at US health insurers, with Mr Mangione serving as a stand-in for frustrations over coverage denials and hefty medical bills.
Natalie Monarrez, a 55-year-old Staten Island resident, said she joined the demonstration because she lost both her mother and her life savings as a result of denied insurance claims.
"As extreme as it was, it jolted the conversation that we need to deal with this issue," she said.
"Enough is enough, people are fed up."
Mr Thompson, a married father of two high-schoolers, had worked at the giant UnitedHealth Group for 20 years and became CEO of its insurance arm in 2021.
AP
