The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson appeared in court Monday morning and pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, a terrorism-related offense, as well as two variations of second-degree murder and weapons charges in New York State Supreme Court.
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The 26-year-old also faces federal charges:
Prosecutors said in court filings last week that Mr. Mangione’s actions were meant to further terrorism and were “intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population” and to “affect the conduct of a unit of government by murder.”
Mr. Mangione also faces federal charges: The Southern District of New York charged him with murder through use of a firearm, which carries a maximum potential sentence of death, as well as two stalking counts and a firearms offense. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges as well.
BREAKING: Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg Announces Charges Against Luigi Mangione, Includes Terror Count
As we’ve reported, Mangioni is accused of the cold-blooded assassination of Thompson in midtown Manhattan in early December and left a manifesto describing his frustration with healthcare and insurance in this country. However, he was not even covered by UnitedHealthcare. In a sick vision of where we are as a country, many have lionized the 26-year-old and fashioned the murderer into some sort of cult hero.
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Sickness: The Death Cult Rears Its Ugly Head Atop the Murder of Brian Thompson
The ghouls were at it again Monday:
On Monday, about a dozen spectators, mostly young women, were waiting in line just after 6 a.m. in 11-degree weather, hoping to get into the courtroom for the arraignment. Across the street, camera crews set up their lights and other equipment. One person held a cardboard sign with the words “Deny, Defend, Depose.” Another held a sign that read “United States Healthcare Stole My Livelihood.”
Inside the courtroom, members of the press took up nearly six rows of seats, and spectators took up four. Outside, after the hearing, a group of gathered protesters chanted “Free Luigi!”
Despite his support among the twisted, Mangione faces a long road ahead:
Mr. Mangione was arrested after a five-day manhunt. He was spotted eating hash browns at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pa., by a fellow customer who remarked to a friend that he looked like the person in photos that had been released by the New York Police Department. An employee overheard the conversation and alerted the police.
He was found with a handgun, a silencer, ammunition and a fake identification card, as well as a 262-word handwritten manifesto in which he appeared to take responsibility for the shooting. The manifesto also indicated that he saw the killing as a direct challenge to the health care industry’s “corruption” and “power games.”
Mr. Mangione also faces five charges in Pennsylvania, including carrying a gun without a license, forgery, falsely identifying himself to the authorities and possessing “instruments of crime,” according to a criminal complaint.
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Good luck with all that, Luigi.