By James Fanelli
Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty Monday to state murder charges in the killing of UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson, with his lawyer railing that New York City Mayor Eric Adams and other politicians had turned the case into a public spectacle.
Mangione, dressed in a maroon sweater, white-collar shirt and gray pants, only spoke once to enter the plea during his arraignment in a Manhattan court.
His lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, told the judge that her client's constitutional rights had been violated when heavily armed law enforcement officers marched him before news cameras last week after he was transported to lower Manhattan to face charges in both state and federal courts.
"They are literally treating him like he is some sort of political fodder, some sort of spectacle," Agnifilo said.
The mayor had been at the scene of Mangione's arrival in Manhattan. He later said in an interview that he wanted to look Mangione in the eye and tell him "you carried out this terrorist act in my city."
"Frankly, your honor, the mayor should know more than anyone the presumption of innocence," Agnifilo said, referring to the federal bribery charges that Adams faces. "He was trying to distract from those issues by making a spectacle of Mr. Mangione."
Representatives of the mayor didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Adams has pleaded not guilty to his federal charges.
State prosecutors allege Mangione, an Ivy League graduate, gunned down Thompson, the UnitedHealthcare CEO, on Dec. 4 outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel in a brazen, early-morning attack. He was arrested in a McDonald's in Altoona, Pa., after a five-day nationwide manhunt.
The Manhattan U.S. attorney's office also charged Mangione with murder and stalking -- and could pursue a death penalty case against him. Federal prosecutors alleged Mangione meticulously plotted out the killing of Thompson over several months. At the time of his arrest, he was found with a notebook that expressed hostility toward the healthcare industry, they said. One entry discussed an intent to "wack" the CEO of an insurance company.
"The target is insurance" because "it checks every box," said an entry dated Aug. 15, according to a criminal complaint.
Mangione appeared in federal court on Thursday after being flown from Pennsylvania. Agnifilo had previously said she was surprised by the federal charges. The state and federal prosecutions were in conflict with one another, she said. The state case is based on his allegedly terrorizing and intimidating a group of people, she said, while the federal case accuses him of stalking an individual.
At Monday's hearing, Agnifilo repeated the argument. "He's a young man and he is being treated like a human ping-pong ball," she said.
Manhattan prosecutor Joel Seidemann said Monday that federal prosecutors intended to allow the state case to be tried first.
Write to James Fanelli at james.fanelli@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 23, 2024 11:06 ET (16:06 GMT)
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