Luigi Mangione was extradited to New York to face federal murder charges on stalking charges
The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson faces federal murder and stalking charges, in addition to state murder and terrorism charges previously announced by New York prosecutors, according to a court document filed Thursday.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have charged Luigi Mangione, 26, with a federal count of murder with a firearm, two counts of stalking and illegal use of a gun silencer, according to a criminal complaint.
The complaint accuses Mangione of spending months planning an attack out of contempt for the health insurance industry and wealthy corporate executives.
Mangione was taken into New York police custody Thursday after he waived extradition proceedings at a court hearing in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested after a five-day manhunt.
Luigi Mangione is also now facing terrorism charges in New York for what prosecutors say was the “brazen, targeted and intentional shooting” of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
According to the federal complaint, a notebook found in Mangione’s possession by Altoona police contained several handwritten pages “expressing hostility toward the health insurance industry and particularly wealthy executives.” The note, dated October 22, described the “stupid” intention of the insurance company’s CEO at an investor conference.
According to the complaint, a note found in the notebook read: “This investor conference is a real profit.” “The most important thing – the message is self-evident.”
Police also found a letter addressed to the “Feds” in the suspect’s possession, which read, “I wasn’t working with anybody,” according to the complaint.
“It was pretty trivial: some rudimentary social engineering, basic CAD, a lot of patience,” the letter used an acronym for computer-aided design.
Mangione ‘overcharged’, says lawyer
Earlier this week, a New York grand jury indicted Mangione on 11 counts of violating state laws, including first-degree murder and murder as an act of terrorism. Mangione has been in jail since his arrest and has yet to enter a plea. His New York defense attorney, Karen Friedman, said Agnifilo Mangione was “overcharged” and will fight the charges in court.
Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 9, five days after Thompson was shot outside a Manhattan hotel before a company conference in what law enforcement called a premeditated assassination attempt.
Although Thomson’s killing was widely condemned, Mangione has been hailed as a folk hero by some Americans who criticize the high costs of health care and the fact that insurance companies have to refuse to pay for some medical treatments.
The federal charges potentially allow prosecutors to pursue the death penalty, which has been abolished in New York for decades.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch called Luigi Mangione’s attempt to rationalize his alleged actions “despicable” and “reckless.” His comments came at a news conference Tuesday when Mangione was charged with murder in the killing of UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson.
Prosecutors say Mangione “traveled in interstate commerce” by taking a bus from Atlanta to New York before Thompson was killed and also used a cell phone and the Internet to plan and carry out his attack.
Mangione is scheduled to make a preliminary appearance on the federal charges Thursday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker in Manhattan.
“The federal government’s decision to pile on an already overburdened first-degree murder and state terrorism case is highly unusual and raises serious constitutional and statutory double jeopardy concerns,” Mangione’s attorney, Friedman Agnifilo, said in a statement. “We are ready to fight against them in whatever court they are brought with these charges.”
Supporters gather at the courthouse
Police in Pennsylvania said Mangione was carrying a self-assembled 9mm handgun and a homemade silencer in his backpack when he was arrested after showing up at a McDonald’s restaurant. The gun was similar to the one used to kill Thomson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the largest US health insurer.
Mangione, a Maryland native who lives in Hawaii, also had multiple fake IDs, including a fake New Jersey ID used to check into a Manhattan dorm days before Thompson was shot, police said.
In Pennsylvania, Mangione is charged with forgery and unlawful possession of a firearm without a license.
Mangione, who appeared in an orange jail jumpsuit in a Blair County courthouse Thursday morning, had a preliminary hearing on the Pennsylvania charges, followed immediately by a second hearing on the New York extradition request. A small crowd of supporters stood outside the courthouse, some waving signs denouncing the health insurance industry.
Pennsylvania prosecutors told the court that they had agreed to stay the Pennsylvania proceedings until the New York prosecutions were concluded.
Luigi Mangione, the suspected killer of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, has been receiving an incredible amount of praise online lately. Wired’s David Gilbert discusses what he saw online and why some are praising Mangione.
Mangione spoke only briefly at the extradition hearing, telling Judge David Consiglio that he understood his rights and agreed to surrender to New York police.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office is charging Mangione with terrorism under New York law because Thompson’s killing was intended to intimidate or coerce civilians or “influence the policy of a governmental unit.”
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