Luigi Mangione, who is accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December, is set to make an appearance in a Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday morning.
Mangione, 27, faces state charges of first-degree murder, terrorism, stalking and multiple firearms offenses. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He is also facing federal murder charges, including terrorism, as well as additional state charges in Pennsylvania.
His defense attorneys have attempted to have his state case dismissed over claims that it conflicts with the federal indictment. They have sought to block federal prosecutors from seeking the death penalty. And they also want to block prosecutors from using evidence collected during Mangione’s arrest last December. Mangione’s attorneys have argued that officers failed to read him his Miranda rights and conducted a warrantless search of his backpack.
New York Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro could rule on those motions and others Tuesday, when Mangione makes his first appearance in state court since February.
The hearing is set for 9 a.m. ET.
How authorities say the killing unfolded
Members of the NYPD Crime Scene Unit work near at the scene of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s fatal shooting in Manhattan, Dec. 4, 2024. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)
Thompson was shot to death early the morning of Dec. 4 outside a luxury hotel in midtown Manhattan. Surveillance footage of the incident shows a hooded figure shooting Thompson in the back with a silenced pistol and recocking the gun to fire two more rounds before fleeing the scene. According to police, shell casings with the words “deny,” “delay” and “depose” written on them were found at the scene, an apparent reference to a frequently-criticized strategy that health insurance companies are alleged to use to avoid paying out customer claims.
Mangione was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pa., nearly 300 miles from New York City. He was brought back to New York, where he faces 10 total charges in connection with Thompson’s killing. He faces separate murder and terror charges in federal court, which could carry a potential death penalty sentence. He was also charged with a number of lesser crimes in Pennsylvania.
Following his arrest, evidence of Mangione’s alleged motivation for the crime began to surface. It was revealed that his purported disdain for the health care industry may have stemmed in part from chronic back pain that he had suffered for years. Police say they found a notebook in his possession with handwritten passages about his health struggles and plans to seek revenge. In one entry, which was leaked to the media, he allegedly wrote that “parasites” who run health care companies “simply had it coming.”
Mangione was denied bail and has been detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his arrest.
Why is the case so controversial?
Supporters of Luigi Mangione gather outside the courthouse in New York City on Tuesday. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Mangione became an incredibly polarizing figure after his arrest. Rolling Stone magazine has described him as “one of the most debated murder suspects in recent history.” Authorities have widely condemned the attack.
“This was a frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said during a December press conference in which he announced charges against Mangione.
Polls taken at the time showed that most Americans agreed with Bragg and believed that Thompson’s killing was not justified. But a non-trivial share of the public — including 41% of those between 18 and 29 — said it was “acceptable.”
Among this group, Mangione quickly emerged as a symbol of anger over the state of the American health care system. Throngs of people online posted the phrase “Free Luigi.” Some openly celebrated Thompson’s murder, while others hoped to use it as an opportunity to have a broader conversation about what they believe are much-needed reforms. Several crowdfunding pages were started to help support his legal defense.
“I don’t condone murder, but what he did and its focus on UnitedHealthcare has really brought to life how our health care system is broken,” Shane Solger, who joined a demonstration outside one of Mangione’s earlier court appearances, told Yahoo News. “I’m here because the way that our health care system is designed right now hurts people. This is kind of a protest of our health care system.”
What happens next?
Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, appears in court in New York, Dec. 23, 2024. (Curtis Means/Daily Mail/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Last week, a judge in Pennsylvania ordered him to appear at a pre-trial hearing in that state on Nov. 7. His next federal court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 5, when the judge in that case is expected to set a date for the trial to begin sometime in 2026.
