Luigi Mangione—the 26-year-old suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson—was indicted Tuesday on multiple murder charges, including killing as an act of terrorism, a move that adds a new dimension to the crime some believe was motivated by a hatred of the U.S. health insurance industry, but that one expert said could make it harder for the state to convict Mangione.
Suspected shooter Luigi Mangione is led from the Blair County Courthouse after an extradition ... [+]
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Mangione was formally charged with one count of first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism; two counts of second-degree murder, one of which is charged as killing as an act of terrorism; and multiple counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
In the indictment, prosecutors argue Mangione killed Thompson “in furtherance of an act of terrorism,” and Bragg said Tuesday the killing was “intended to evoke terror” in the most basic sense of the statute.
“Act of terrorism,” when added onto a first-degree murder charge, is defined in New York law as a violent act dangerous to human life that is intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence government policy or influence the government’s conduct by murder, assassination or kidnapping.
The New York Police Department’s deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism, Rebecca Weiner, said Tuesday authorities have seen “a sustained increase” since Thompson’s Dec. 4 killing in concern from corporations and an increase in online threats that speak to “the intent to intimidate or coerce the civilian population, which is at the root of our state terrorism statute.”
Bragg said at Tuesday’s press conference that the maximum penalty possible for a conviction for either murder in the first degree or murder in the second degree as an act of terrorism is life without parole, while the maximum penalty for murder in the second degree is 25 years to life.
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.
In order to successfully prosecute Mangione on first-degree murder as an act of terrorism, prosecutors will have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mangione murdered Thompson and that he “did so with the intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of unit of government by intimidation or coercion, or affect the conduct of a unit of government by murder, assassination or kidnapping.” Bragg said in the presser he thinks the circumstances of the killing will help prove the terrorism element, and pointed to the writings found on Mangione—which reportedly showed “some ill will toward corporate America”—and the decision to commit the crime “in the middle of Midtown” in a busy area, adding: “The intent was to sow terror.”
Mitchell Epner, a former federal prosecutor who now practices privately, told Forbes he thinks the terrorism charge is “performative” and may make it harder to convict Mangione. He said the terrorism claims could be a way to charge the high-profile killing as first-degree murder—which is typically used in New York in very specific circumstances, like for killings of police officers—even though the difference in sentence between first- and second-degree murder isn’t “meaningful,” especially since the state doesn’t allow for the death penalty. According to Epner, the terrorism-related charge means prosecutors must go beyond proving Thompson was killed because someone “didn't like the way that they conducted their business,” which he called an “open-and-shut” second-degree murder case, and must show he was killed in an effort to induce fear in politicians or a population at large to take some action. That case could be even harder to prove, Epner argued, because New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch reassured the public that they shouldn’t be alarmed by the shooting—a remark he called “the single worst piece of evidence for the prosecution.”
“I believe that it is possible that they have found the one crime that this defendant, Luigi Mangione, might have a good defense to,” Epner told Forbes.
Thompson, 50, was shot from behind outside of the New York Hilton Midtown—where UnitedHealth Group was planning to host an investor’s meeting—on Dec. 4. The shooting was captured by surveillance cameras in the area, but the suspect fled on foot and then on an electric bike. Officials immediately said they believed Thompson’s killing was “a brazen targeted attack” and police released a number of photos of the suspect—though his face was covered in most—utilized diving teams, helicopters, security footage, drones and dogs to search New York City before announcing they believed the suspect traveled out of New York. Mangione allegedly evaded police for about five days before he was recognized in a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and he was arrested on gun charges after being found with a gun and silencer officials said were similar to what was used to kill Thompson. Mangione was then charged with a number of gun-related counts in Pennsylvania, where he is being held before potentially being extradited to New York to face the murder charges.
Bragg seemed confident in Tuesday’s press conference that his office will be able to prove Thompson’s killing was an act of terrorism. “I can’t think of another office that is more equipped to handle a terrorism charge,” Bragg said, adding the office has tried two “very significant” terrorism cases in the last two years.