Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty to federal charges in killing of CEO

Luigi Mangione appeared at a February 21 court hearing in New York City on state charges related to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson late last year. (Curtis Means/Pool/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year, pleaded not guilty Friday to all federal charges against him in the case.

Also during Friday’s arraignment in Manhattan federal court, Mangione’s legal team indicated it wants his federal case to go to trial before his state cases connected to Thompson’s death, after the Justice Department said it would seek the death penalty in the federal case.

Mangione, wearing a beige prison jumpsuit and shackled at the wrists and ankles, entered the not-guilty pleas to a charge of murder and two counts of stalking and a firearms offense. He scribbled on a yellow legal pad at times during the 30-minute hearing, seated between two of his lawyers.

Besides his federal charges, the defendant also faces state charges in New York, where Thompson was killed, and Pennsylvania, where Mangione was arrested – and officials had previously said his New York state case would proceed first.

But in Friday’s arraignment, his attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo said she will ask that his federal trial start first, citing the Justice Department’s announcement a day earlier that it intends to seek capital punishment for his top federal charge – murder through use of a firearm. The department’s announcement came weeks after Attorney General Pam Bondi directed the office to seek the penalty.

In his New York state case, Mangione would face a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted, according to prosecutors. Details about when Mangione’s legal team would request the change in trial order weren’t immediately available.

Mangione’s next hearing in the federal case is scheduled for December 5, when a trial date will be set, Judge Margaret Garnett said. She expects the trial to begin in 2026, she said.

Friday’s court appearance comes about a week after a federal grand jury indicted Mangione on the four federal charges in the December 4 killing of the insurance executive.

The targeted shooting of Thompson, who was on his way to a UnitedHealthcare investors’ conference in New York, has led to an outpouring of support for Mangione from people with deep frustration and anger at the American for-profit health care system.

Outside the courtroom Friday, supporters of Mangione gathered, some wearing green – a reference to Nintendo’s “Luigi” character – and holding banners, with messages like “Luigi Before Fascists” and “Stop the Violence: End the Death Penalty Now.” Critics also appeared: One person displayed what seemed to be a fake skeleton dressed in a green shirt and blue overalls – clothes in the style of the Nintendo character – in a mock electric chair.

Mangione’s last court appearance in February similarly drew a sizable contingent of supporters.

In New York, he has pleaded not guilty to state murder and terror charges. In his Pennsylvania case, he faces firearm and forgery charges in connection to the 3D-printed firearm and false identification allegedly in his possession when he was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona. He did not enter a plea in Pennsylvania before he was extradited back to New York to face charges there.

An attorney for Mangione filed a series of motions in Pennsylvania state court seeking to dismiss the charges against him there, and suppress several pieces of evidence should the case go to trial. His lawyers said Mangione was illegally stopped and searched by authorities and requested that Mangione’s recovered writings not be referred to as a manifesto.

How we got here

The charges stem from the December 4 shooting of Thompson in Midtown Manhattan that set off a five-day manhunt.

Mangione was arrested in connection with the killing in Pennsylvania, more than 270 miles away from the shooting. He allegedly possessed on him the fake ID used by the suspect, the gun they believe was used in the shooting and a handwritten “claim of responsibility,” authorities have said.

Mangione was not insured by UnitedHealthcare, but at the time of his arrest, he allegedly had a handwritten notebook that expressed “hostility toward the health insurance industry and wealthy executives in particular,” according to a federal complaint. Notably, three 9mm shell casings from the crime scene had the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” written on them, the NYPD has said, an apparent nod to a 2010 book critiquing insurance industry tactics.

Mangione has garnered support from some who see the American health insurance industry as broken, overly expensive and quick to deny coverage. The majority of insured US adults had at least one issue with their health insurance within the span of a year, including denial of claims, according to a survey released in June 2023 by nonprofit health policy research group KFF.

As of April 24, a legal defence fund in support of Mangione has raised more than US$900,000.

“To be honest, I’m really not that surprised that all this widespread support has sort of risen up in this moment for this young man alleged to have taken action in this way,” Sam Beard, spokesperson for the December 4th Legal Committee – the group fundraising for Mangione – previously told CNN’s Laura Coates.

“I think Americans are fed up with the way of the – that the health insurance system operates,” Beard added.

Meanwhile, mainstream politicians have lambasted Mangione’s alleged actions as horrific crimes and said he should face serious consequences.

“In America, we do not kill people in cold blood to resolve policy differences or express a viewpoint,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said the same day Mangione was apprehended. “He is no hero.”

High public interest in Mangione

The sharply polarizing views on his case have made Mangione a particular focus of public attention.

In December, Mangione was whisked from Pennsylvania to downtown New York on a jet and a helicopter in a remarkable spectacle in front of media cameras. Once in New York, a handcuffed Mangione was led on a lengthy “perp walk” by a swarm of heavily armed NYPD officers, with New York Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch right behind them.

The defence has accused law enforcement and prosecutors of inappropriately playing to the television cameras in that incident.

Mangione’s February 21 court hearing in New York on state charges drew dozens of his supporters despite frigid temperatures and long lines to enter the courtroom.

Some wore “Free Luigi” scarves and “Free Luigi” sweaters, and they chanted slogans supporting him and criticizing the American health care industry.

Chelsea Manning, the former United States Army soldier and whistleblower convicted of violating the Espionage Act after leaking documents to WikiLeaks, was spotted among the attendees that day, and also appeared outside his Friday federal hearing.

Mangione himself wore a green sweater in that court hearing – a fashion choice that prosecutors said the defence made intentionally. The defence “has on the one hand cried foul when entities outside the People’s control have made public statements or gestures, while on the other has itself fanned the flames of the public attention,” prosecutors wrote in a recent filing.

Further, prosecutors revealed that Mangione’s attorneys provided him a new pair of argyle socks that contained hidden heart-shaped notes of support. Mangione’s attorneys later said they “inadvertently did not see” the notes in the socks.

Ultimately, Mangione did not wear those socks during the hearing.

Written by Lauren del Valle, Michelle Watson and Kara Scannell, CNN