A New York judge on Tuesday dismissed two terror-related murder charges against Luigi Mangione, finding they are “legally insufficient,” according to the judge’s ruling.
Mangione, the 27-year-old man accused of gunning down the former UnitedHealthcare CEO, still faces a count of murder in the second degree.
Mangione’s defense had argued the charges of murder in the first degree in furtherance of an act of terrorism and murder in the second degree as a crime of terrorism should be tossed because crimes of terrorism as defined in New York state legislation refer to attacks on multiple civilians, not a shooting of a single individual.
“While the People place great emphasis on defendant’s ‘ideological’ motive, there is no indication in the statute that a murder committed for ideological reasons (in this case, the defendant’s apparent desire to draw attention to what he perceived as inequities or greed within the American health care system), fits within the definition of terrorism without establishing the necessary element of an intent to intimidate or coerce,” Judge Gregory Carro wrote in his decision to dismiss the two terror-related charges Tuesday.
While second-degree murder is technically less severe than the previous top state charges against Mangione, he still faces a potential sentence of 25 years to life in prison, if convicted. And Tuesday’s ruling did nothing to alter the federal murder case against him, for which the Justice Department plans to seek the death penalty.
Carro’s ruling came just as Mangione appeared in a Manhattan courtroom, where he was brought in wearing a beige jumpsuit, his wrists and ankles shackled.
A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told CNN the office respected the court’s decision “and will proceed on the remaining nine counts,” including second-degree murder.
Mangione’s defense had sought to dismiss his murder indictment because he faces federal charges for the same killing, and they wanted the judge to suppress evidence seized at the time of his arrest and statements he made to law enforcement.
Mangione is due back in court on December 1, when the judge said he will hold a hearing on the defense motion to suppress evidence.
Mangione is accused of killing Brian Thompson as the executive walked toward a hotel hosting UnitedHealthcare’s annual investor conference in Midtown Manhattan late last year.
The subsequent dayslong manhunt captured national attention as investigators shared details of Mangione’s alleged writings and the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” written on bullets and shell casings found at the scene.
The shooting is among a surge of politically motivated attacks across the US, including last week’s assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on a college campus in Utah.
Supporters have flocked to Mangione’s court hearings, often wearing green clothes and carrying signs, and Tuesday was no different.
Several dozen people lined up outside the Manhattan criminal courthouse in hopes of getting inside the hearing. A group of demonstrators also gathered to show support for Mangione, including one woman who wore green head-to-toe, donning a shirt patterned with the face of the Luigi video game character from Nintendo’s “Super Mario Bros.”
Mangione has raised more than $1.2 million in an online fundraiser since his arrest last December where donations are as small as $5.
Luigi Mangione is escorted into Manhattan state court. – Seth Wenig/AP
Defense cited double jeopardy
The judge also found Tuesday that the twin state and federal prosecutions of Mangione did not yet present a violation of the Constitution’s double jeopardy clause, which Mangione’s attorneys had cited in a bid to have the state charges dismissed.
Mangione’s attorneys said it was unprecedented and untenable for Mangione to defend himself in both cases at the same time.
The defense motion to dismiss the indictment cited past prosecutions of high-profile mass shooters when state prosecutors deferred to their federal counterparts or declined to add state charges to the mix.
Federal and state officials have said the state’s case will go first, which his attorneys have strongly opposed because the possible penalty is “less serious” than the federal death sentence he faces.
The defense motion accused the district attorney’s office and federal prosecutors of “colluding to obstruct Mr. Mangione’s ability to meaningfully defend himself.”
At a minimum, Mangione’s attorneys had asked the judge to consider allowing the federal death penalty case to move forward first.
On Tuesday, Carro cited US Supreme Court precedent that found the same criminal act can be subject to prosecution by “two sovereigns,” and wrote that the defendant’s motion to dismiss based on double jeopardy was premature.
If Mangione is convicted in a highly publicized prosecution, it’d be impossible for him to find a fair and impartial jury in a later federal trial, his attorneys have said.
Prosecutors balked at the defense’s asserted concern over publicity, pointing to Mangione’s regularly updated website about the case maintained by his defense team and the GiveSendGo donation page.
The defense has asked Judge Gregory Carro to suppress any evidence found in the backpack including the gun, loaded magazine, and his writings, which reveal Mangione’s detailed thinking before the shooting, according to a previous court filing. They also moved to suppress any statements Mangione made to law enforcement after his December 9 arrest at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, until December 19, when he was extradited to New York.
Manhattan prosecutors had defended the actions and said they’re open to the defense request for Carro to hold hearings about whether those statements and the materials recovered from his backpack should be kept out of his trial.
People rally in support of Luigi Mangione on the day of his appearance at Manhattan Supreme Court. – Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
Terrorism charges at issue
Mangione was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury last December on 11 counts, including first-degree murder and second-degree murder as a crime of terrorism, along with other weapon and forgery charges.
The first-degree murder charge alleged he killed the executive “in furtherance of an act of terrorism,” which is legally defined as an intent to intimidate or coerce the civilian population or a government unit.
Prosecutors said in their response filing that Mangione’s calculated assassination of Thompson, the CEO of the nation’s largest health insurance company who he had no personal connection to, was meant to “violently broadcast a social and political message to the public at large.”
But writings recovered from his backpack during his arrest “make clear that Mr. Mangione was not looking to terrorize any community,” his attorneys wrote. Mangione never publicly released his private writings, which address his views on health care and include a letter addressed to the FBI, which his attorneys say proves he didn’t intend to cause wide intimidation of a population.
They also blame law enforcement for leaking his writings and calling them a “manifesto.”
Luigi Mangione, center, listens to his attorneys during Tuesday’s hearing. – Steven Hirsch/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
“This would have been an alleged murder of a man outside a hotel. Instead, the police leaked what was written on the bullets; the police leaked Mr. Mangione’s alleged writings; and the police called these alleged writings a manifesto – a term synonymous with terrorism. None of this was done by Mr. Mangione. It was law enforcement that created the air of terrorism surrounding this alleged crime and who now seek to blame Mr. Mangione for the hysteria and fear they created.”
Mangione’s lawyers have yet to say whether they will seek to rely on a psychiatric defense.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Carolyn Sung contributed to this report.
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