The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO will return to New York to face murder charges.
Luigi Mangione waived his right to an extradition hearing during a court appearance in Pennsylvania on Thursday. This cleared the way for his return to New York, where a New York grand jury charged the 26-year-old on eleven counts.
Mangione will face several murder charges, including first-degree murder and murder as an act of terrorism, prosecutors said on Tuesday.
Mangione is suspected of killing UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan earlier this month. He was arrested at a McDonalds in Altoona, Pennsylvania last week after he was on the run for five days.
Upon his arrest, Mangione was reportedly carrying a detailed plan, as well as a handwritten manifesto calling health insurance companies “parasitic” and decrying them for their corporate greed. Mangione also wrote in the manifesto that the attack was designed to be “targeted” and “precise,” one that “doesn’t risk innocents.”
At a press conference, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the suspect carried out a “frightening, well-planned, targeted murder,” and added that “in its most basic terms, this was a killing that was intended to evoke terror.”
Anti-terrorism law used in charges against Mangione
New York prosecutors are using an 9/11-era anti-terrorism law, which states that an underlying offense constitutes “a crime of terrorism” if it’s done “with intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of a unit of government by intimidation or coercion or affect the conduct of a unit of government by murder, assassination or kidnapping.”
The law pushes the offense into a more serious sentencing category, which means that if Mangione were to be convicted, he could possible face a life sentence.
Mangione also faced other charges in Pennsylvania, including more minor gun and forgery charges. The 26-year-old also waived a preliminary hearing on these charges in exchange for the prosecutor giving him a 20-page investigative report from the Altoona Police Department.
Blair County District Attorney Pete Weeks said he wanted to turn Mangione over to New York officials as soon as possible, and that he was willing to put the Pennsylvania charges on hold.
“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,” Weeks said.
Outside of the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, a few supporters were seen holding signs reading “Luigi the people hear you,” “Murder for profit is terrorism” and “Free Luigi.”
Thompson’s killing sparked a healthcare debate in the US. Many took to social media to express their resentment towards health insurance comapnies, sharing stories on their experiences with denied healthcare claims, sizeable bills, and often feeling left in limbo as doctors and insurers disagreed.
In the wake of the killing, the police in New York reported an increased number of threats towards corporate leaders. “Wanted” posters with faces of other executives were plastered across Manhattan.
“We don’t celebrate murderers, and we don’t lionize the killing of anyone,” New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Tuesday. “Any attempt to rationalize this is vile, reckless and offensive to our deeply held principles of justice.”
