Luigi Mangione, accused of gunning down an insurance executive in cold blood in a slaying that has divided Americans, pleaded not guilty to murder charges on Friday, April 25, after he was arraigned in court. Mangione has now been charged in both New York state and federal courts over the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He pleaded not guilty to the federal charges in a Manhattan court on Friday.
The case has stirred debate about political violence and the state of the healthcare system in the United States, and is the first case in which the Justice Department is seeking the death penalty since Donald Trump returned to the White House.
Mangione wore beige prison scrubs and conferred with his lawyers, an Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent saw.
Well-wishers brandished signs and chanted, with one stopping to admonish prosecutors for rushing the cases against him. Lindsay Floyd, an activist working in support of Mangione, said ahead of the hearing that "these are serious accusations that deserve some reflection, not this vilification before the trial has even begun." Outside the court, a van fitted with a video screen accused the Justice Department of "barbaric" conduct alongside an image of Mangione in court.
Early on December 4, Mangione allegedly tracked Thompson in New York, walked up behind him and fired several gunshots from a pistol with a silencer, federal prosecutors said. He had traveled to the city by bus from Atlanta about 10 days before the crime. Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9, following a tip from staff at a McDonald's restaurant after a days-long manhunt.
In the state case, Mangione has also pleaded not guilty and could face life imprisonment with no parole, if convicted.