Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty in health care CEO shooting as his lawyer blasts NYC mayor

MANHATTAN (CN) — Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old Maryland native accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City earlier this month, pleaded not guilty on Monday to state charges including first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism.

At an early-morning arraignment, Mangione’s lawyers lambasted prosecutors and government officials for what they said was an ongoing campaign to turn their client into a political “spectacle.”

They pointed to Mangione’s perp walk last week after his extradition, where he was escorted off a helicopter by swarms of assault gun-wielding law enforcement officers in Lower Manhattan. Just over Mangione’s shoulder was New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who joined the escort as he faces his own criminal charges in federal court.

The scene was “staged” and “unreasonable,” his attorneys claimed Monday.

“It was perfectly choreographed,” said defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo. “And what was the New York City mayor doing at this? … That makes this utterly political.”

Agnifilo acknowledged the mayor’s own legal issues: federal corruption charges over supposedly taking bribes and illicit campaign donations from Turkish businessmen and a government official. The lawyer claimed Adams was “trying to detract from those issues by making a spectacle of Mr. Mangione.”

“Frankly, your honor, the mayor should know more than anyone of the presumption of innocence,” Agnifilo continued.

Adams’ office responded to the courtroom jab by focusing on the mayor’s commitment to public safety.

“The cold-blooded assassination of Brian Thompson — a father of two — and the terror it infused on the streets of New York City for days has since been sickeningly glorified, shining a spotlight on the darkest corners of the internet,” Adams’ press secretary Kayla Altus said in a statement to Courthouse News. “Mayor Adams’ priority is — and always has been — public safety, and he has repeatedly spoken about how social media is fueling the radicalization of our youth.”

“Critics can say all they want, but showing up to support our law enforcement and sending the message to New Yorkers that violence and vitriol have no place in our city is who Mayor Eric Adams is to his core,” Altus added.

Mangione also faces federal charges for murder through use of a firearm, firearms offense and stalking. He made his initial appearance in federal court in the Southern District of Manhattan last week.

The federal charges took Mangione’s defense team by surprise — they reportedly learned about them from a story in The New York Post the night before. Prosecutors say the state case will proceed to trial before the federal one, but Mangione remains in federal custody.

Manhattan prosecutors unsuccessfully pushed on Monday for a judge to order Mangione to instead be detained by the state for now. New York Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro urged them to “work it out” with federal prosecutors.

The back-and-forth appeared to fuel Agnifilo’s ire, as she accused the two jurisdictions of being on completely different pages.

“He’s a young man and he is being treated like a human ping pong ball by two warring jurisdictions here,” Agnifilo said. “They are literally treating him like he is some sort of political fodder, like some sort of spectacle.”

Mangione sat at the defense table bound by chains around his body and small orange handcuffs on his wrists. Foregoing the orange prison jumpsuit he wore on arrival in New York City, he sported a maroon sweater over a white dress shirt and khakis. A sizable presence of roughly a dozen law enforcement officers escorted him in and out of Carro’s courtroom.

“I have very little control as to what happens outside this court,” the judge told Agnifilo. “But I can guarantee you … that the defendant will receive a fair trial and we will carefully select a jury when that time comes.”

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced the state charges against Mangione last week, calling Thompson’s murder “frightening, well-planned” and “targeted.” He lamented the online reaction to the killing, with some celebrating Mangione as a folk hero because of his apparent disdain for the for-profit health care industry.

On Monday, dozens of protesters gathered across the street from the courthouse. They chanted “free Luigi” and held signs that said “Medicare for all” and “innocent until proven guilty.”

If convicted on the New York State charges, which include first degree murder and two counts of second degree murder, Mangione could face life in prison. He could be sentenced to death in his federal case.

Authorities say that after Mangione shot and killed Thompson on Dec. 4, he fled the state and evaded capture until he was recognized at an Altoona, Pennsylvania, McDonald’s five days later, where he was arrested. He faces firearm charges in Pennsylvania, too, but was extradited to New York last week for the more pressing murder counts.

Mangione’s New York legal team consists of Agnifilo, a high-profile criminal attorney who was formerly a deputy in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, and her husband, Marc Agnifilo, who is also a renowned defense lawyer representing hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs in a federal sex trafficking case.

Mangione’s next court appearance is slated for Feb. 21, 2025.

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