THE suspect accused of assassinating the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare has pleaded not guilty to state charges in connection to the brazen Midtown killing.
Luigi Mangione is facing 11 criminal counts after prosecutors said he meticulously planned out Brian Thompson’s killing on December 4 to invoke terror.
Mangione, who was handcuffed and shackled by the wrists and ankles, emerged at the downtown Manhattan Criminal Courthouse just before 9:30 am on Monday.
Wearing a burgundy sweater over a white collared shirt and khaki pants with orange prison sneakers, Mangione was flanked by New York detectives who escorted him inside the courtroom.
Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Mangione’s attorney, raised concerns about her client’s ability to obtain a fair trial.
“He’s a young man, and he’s being treated like a human ping-pong ball by two warring jurisdictions here,” Agnifilo argued.
“They’re treating him like a human spectacle.”
Agnifilo underscored Mayor Eric Adam’s presence on Thursday at the Wall Street heliport, where dozens of armed New York police officers and FBI officials waited for Mangione to arrive after being extradited from Pennsylvania.
However, Judge Gregory Carro assured Agnifilo that Mangione would receive a fair trial, saying, “We will carefully select a jury.”
Dozens of supporters gathered outside the courthouse in frigid temperatures, holding up “Free Luigi” and anti-insurance signs.
The demonstrators held up cardboard signs that read “Health over wealth” and “Deny, defense, depose” – the three words prosecutors said Mangione engraved on the shell casings of three bullets he used to assassinate Thompson, 50.
Moments before the court hearing began, several young women in their 20s waited in line to enter the courthouse to attend Mangione’s arraignment, according to WCBS-TV.
Some of the women told the outlet it was “the first time they’ve come for a court case,” and they were there to support Mangione.
Mangione’s next court date is scheduled for February 21.
FEDERAL INDICTMENT
Mangione was immediately placed in federal custody upon his initial return to New York after federal prosecutors unsealed a four-count indictment against the Ivy League graduate, 26.
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