Luigi Mangione, the man suspected of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, waived his extradition to New York on Thursday after initially signaling he would fight it while remaining in a Pennsylvania prison.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced on Tuesday that Mangione is being charged with first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism and two second-degree murder counts, one of which is charged as a killing in the act of terrorism. Mangione was immediately transferred to NYPD custody following his extradition hearing, and he is being flown to New York City, where he is set to appear for arraignment in Manhattan later on Thursday, CBS News reported.
CNN reported that law enforcement officials said Mangione would appear in a federal courthouse in Manhattan, not in a state court as was initially expected. Sources told CNN that the 26-year-old suspect will also face federal charges, which could make him eligible for the death penalty, but it remains unclear what the federal charges might be.
Mangione was seen leaving the courthouse in Pennsylvania and being taken into custody by the NYPD.
UnitedHealthcare CEO murder suspect Luigi Mangione is returning to New York after waiving extradition. pic.twitter.com/4kQG5LvQVu
— Fox News (@FoxNews) December 19, 2024
Mangione will likely be held in isolation at Riker’s Island because of the high-profile nature of his case, CBS News reported.
Around 100 supporters of Mangione gathered outside the courthouse in Pennsylvania, according to the New York Post. Some of the protesters held signs that read “Free Luigi,” “Private Healthcare Is A Crime Against Humanity,” and “Deny, Defend, Depose,” a phrase that echoes the words written on shell casings found at the sight of Thompson’s assassination, ABC 7 reported.
Supporters of alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangione outside the courthouse in Pennsylvania today pic.twitter.com/k61JTUSG8e
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) December 19, 2024
In a Tuesday press conference announcing the charges against Mangione, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch blasted those who have made a hero out of Mangione.
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“Let me say this plainly, there is no heroism in what Mangione did. This was a senseless act of violence. It was a cold and calculated crime that stole a life and put New Yorkers at risk,” Tisch said. “We don’t celebrate murders and we don’t lionize the killing of anyone. And any attempt to rationalize this is vile, wreckless, and offensive to our deeply held principles of justice.”
Bragg claims that Mangione “intended to evoke terror” with his alleged murder of Thompson. The DA argued that the killing of Thompson on December 4 “was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation.” Some legal experts expressed skepticism over the prosecution’s chances to convict Mangione on the terrorism charges. In an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, former federal prosecutor Jessica Roth suggested that “by including” the terrorism charges, “the district attorney is setting up the conditions for a plea to a lesser charge where he has the possibility of, at some point, getting out of prison.”
