NEW YORK — A man charged with the murder of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare was brought back to New York via plane and helicopter on Thursday to face new federal allegations of stalking and murder, with a possible death penalty on the line if he is found guilty.
Luigi Mangione, 26 years old, is currently being held without bail after appearing in federal court in Manhattan. This session marked the end of a hectic day that began in Pennsylvania, where he was apprehended last week following the December 4 incident involving Brian Thompson.
Mangione, an Ivy League graduate, was anticipated to be arraigned on a state murder charge on Thursday. However, the emergence of federal charges postponed this process. Prosecutors indicated that both the federal and state cases will continue simultaneously, though the state case is projected to be tried first.
During the brief 15-minute hearing, Mangione, who was shackled and dressed in formal attire, remained mostly silent as he sat alongside his attorneys in a crowded federal courtroom. He nodded in acknowledgment when the magistrate judge explained his rights and the allegations against him, sometimes leaning forward to confirm his understanding.
Following the hearing, a federal marshal handed his lawyers a bag containing his personal effects, including the orange prison uniform he had worn during his court appearance in Pennsylvania.
Mangione had been in custody in Pennsylvania since December 9, when he was arrested while having breakfast at a McDonald’s in Altoona, approximately 233 miles west of Manhattan. During a hearing that morning, he consented to be extradited back to New York, where he was placed into the custody of a sizable contingent of New York Police Department officers and transported to an airport for a flight to Long Island.
Once in Manhattan, he was escorted to a heliport, surrounded by armed officers, including New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
The federal complaint outlines multiple charges against Mangione, including two counts of stalking, one count of murder committed with a firearm, and an additional firearms offense. The charge of murder using a firearm carries the risk of the death penalty; however, federal prosecutors will decide in the upcoming months whether to pursue that option.
Furthermore, in a state court indictment revealed earlier this week, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office charged Mangione with murder characterized as an act of terrorism, which could result in a life sentence without the possibility of parole, as New York does not impose the death penalty.
Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Mangione’s attorney and a former high-ranking official in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, remarked that facing simultaneous federal and state cases is an extraordinary scenario. “Honestly, I’ve never encountered anything like what is unfolding here,” she stated.
She indicated that the option to request bail at a future date remains open but refrained from making comments as she departed the courthouse.
Hailing from Towson, Maryland, Mangione is accused of ambushing Thompson, 50, as he arrived at a hotel in Manhattan for an investment conference. Surveillance footage captured a masked assailant shooting Thompson from behind. Investigators noted that the words “delay,” “deny,” and “depose” were found written on the ammunition at the scene, reflecting a phrase often associated with the tactics of insurers to sidestep claims.
After the shooting, the assailant is reported to have ridden a bicycle through Central Park, taken a taxi to a bus station, and then used the subway before ultimately escaping to Pennsylvania. A McDonald’s patron recognized Mangione as resembling the person depicted in police surveillance images while dining there, leading to his arrest.
Authorities reported that Mangione was found in possession of the firearm used in the shooting, along with a passport, counterfeit identification cards, and roughly $10,000. The federal complaint also stated that he owned a notebook filled with numerous handwritten notes expressing animosity towards the health insurance sector and affluent executives. Although UnitedHealthcare is the largest health insurer in the U.S., the company noted that Mangione was never a customer.
One entry dated in August proclaimed that “the target is insurance” because it “checks every box.” Another entry from October articulated an intention to murder the CEO of a major insurance company during its investor conference, the complaint disclosed.
Mangione initially resisted efforts to be extradited to New York but ultimately waived that right on Thursday, along with a preliminary hearing concerning forgery and firearms charges in Pennsylvania.
This fatal incident has incited a wave of discussions concerning public resentment toward U.S. health insurance companies, while it has also sent shockwaves through corporate America, with some users on social media dubbing the shooting as retribution.
Mangione, who graduated in computer science from a notable Maryland family, frequently took to social media to discuss how a spinal surgery he underwent last year alleviated his ongoing back pain. He encouraged others with chronic conditions to assert their needs and not simply accept inadequate care.
In a Reddit post from late April, he urged someone with similar health issues to seek second opinions from medical professionals and to emphasize how their pain affected their ability to work. “We live in a capitalist society,” Mangione wrote. “In my experience, the medical industry responds more promptly to these critical phrases as opposed to just detailing unbearable discomfort.”
Recently, he appeared to have distanced himself from family and friends, and his family reported him missing in San Francisco in November.
Brian Thompson, who had a humble upbringing on a farm in Iowa and trained as an accountant, was a married father of two teenagers. He had devoted two decades to UnitedHealth Group and became the CEO of its insurance division in 2021.
