US: Luigi Mangione, accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO, pleads not guilty to federal charges

NEW DELHI: Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan in 2024, on Friday, pleaded not guilty to all federal charges against him in the case, CNN reported.

During arraignment in Manhattan federal court on Friday, Mangione’s legal team hinted it wants his federal case to go to trial before his state cases related to Thompson’s death after the Justice Department announced it would seek the death penalty in the federal case.

Mangione (26) entered not-guilty pleas to a charge of murder, two counts of stalking and a firearms offence. In addition to federal charges, he also faces state charges in New York, where Thompson died, and Pennsylvania, where Mangione was arrested. Previously, officials had said his New York state case would proceed first.

In the arraignment on Friday, Mangione’s attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo said she will request that his federal trial start first, citing the Justice Department’s announcement that it wants to seek capital punishment for his top federal charge – murder through the use of a firearm, according to CNN report.

The department’s statement comes weeks after Attorney General Pam Bondi asked the office to seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione.

According to prosecutors, if convicted in his New York state case, Mangione would face a maximum sentence of life in prison. On Friday, Judge Margaret Garnett said the next hearing in Mangione’s federal case is scheduled for December 5, when a trial date will be set. Garnett stated that she expects the trial to start in 2026.

The hearing on Friday comes about a week after a federal grand jury indicted Mangione on the four federal charges in Thompson’s killing on December 4.

The killing of Thompson, who was heading to a UnitedHealthcare investors’ conference in New York, has resulted in an outpouring of support for Mangione from people who are frustrated and angry at the American for-profit health care system.

Supporters of Mangione gathered outside the courtroom on Friday, 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.”

Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state murder and terror charges in New York. In his Pennsylvania case, he faces firearm and forgery charges related to the 3D-printed firearm and false identification allegedly found with him at the time of his arrest at a McDonald’s in Altoona. He did not file a plea in Pennsylvania before his extradition to New York to face charges there.

An attorney for Mangione has filed several motions in Pennsylvania state court, requesting the dismissal of the charges against him and the suppression of certain evidence should the case proceed to trial.

His attorneys have said authorities illegally stopped and searched Mangione and requested that recovered writings from him should not be referred to as a manifesto.

Earlier this month, lawyers for Luigi Mangione requested a federal judge to stop the US Justice Department from seeking the death penalty, terming the decision a “political stunt,” CNN reported.

Mangione’s lawyers sought court intervention, saying that the Justice Department should be blocked from seeking the death penalty as it did not follow certain protocols and breached Mangione’s due process.

The request of his lawyers came days after US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the Justice Department would pursue the death penalty in Mangione’s case. They have said that Bondi’s public statement tainted the grand jury pool. (ANI)