Luigi Mangione Waives Extradition, Heading to New York

Luigi Mangione waived extradition in a Pennsylvania court Thursday morning and was brought immediately to New York, where he appeared in court on newly unsealed federal charges.

He was charged with four federal counts: use of a firearm to commit murder, interstate stalking resulting in death, stalking through use of interstate facilities resulting in death, and use of a silencer in a crime of violence, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

Three of the charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison. The use of a firearm to commit murder charges makes Mangione eligible for the death penalty. He is not eligible for death on any of the state charges he faces because New York banned execution as a punishment 20 years ago.

Mangione was flown to New York from Altoona, Pennsylvania, Thursday morning after he waived a hearing and agreed to be extradited to face state charges filed against him there in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4, WABC reported. Mangione slipped away from New York police later that morning by foot, bike, cab, and, ultimately, train to Philadelphia, where he began a bus trip in the general direction of Pittsburgh.

He was arrested on weapons and forgery charges at a McDonald’s in Altoona after an employee there recognized him from the multiple surveillance photos New York Police released. On Tuesday, a New York grand jury indicted the 26-year-old son of a prominent Maryland family on murder and forgery charges, paving the way for Thursday’s extradition hearing.

But before that hearing took place, word leaked out of the federal indictment.

“Brian Thompson was gunned down in cold blood as he walked down a street in midtown Manhattan,” acting US Attorney Edward Y. Kim said in a statement.  “Thompson was allegedly killed just because he held the position of chief executive officer of a health insurance company.

“As alleged, Luigi Mangione traveled to New York to stalk and shoot Thompson in broad daylight in front of a Manhattan hotel, all in a grossly misguided attempt to broadcast Mangione’s views across the country.  But this wasn’t a debate, it was murder, and Mangione now faces federal charges.”

The federal complaint against him says that Mangione spent months planning the murder, ultimately traveling from Georgia to commit a murder targeting the US health insurance system because “it checked every box.”

Mangione’s attorney, Karen Friedman Angifilo, told Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker Thursday morning that he client would not initially contest pretrial detention, and he was taken into custody. His next court appearance was set for January 18.

The prosecutor noted a “parallel” case with the Manhattan district attorney and said the federal charges were filed in consultation with that office.

Agnifilo called the situation highly unusual” and said that the state and federal charges appeared to conflict, with state terrorism charges saying her client terrorized a group of people while the federal counts charge him with stalking an individual.

Mangione, who initially indicated through his Pennsylvania attorney Thomas Dickey that he would fight extradition, changed his mind after hiring Friedman Agnifilo, a former prosecutor. to defend him in New York.

Before Thursday’s hearings, Friedman Agnifilo issued a statement saying that “the federal government’s reported decision to pile on top of an already overcharged first-degree murder and state terror case is highly unusual and raises serious constitutional and statutory double jeopardy concerns.”

“We are ready to fight these charges in whatever court they are brought,” she said.

The murder of Thompson, chief executive of the country’s largest health insurer, has sparked fear among the executives of large companies, particularly in the health insurance industry, where average Americans struggle with the highest per capita rate of spending in the world, according to Statista. Wealthy executives and shareholders of such companies have increased security, especially in the wake of rising donations made to Mangione’s defense fund by Americans angry at the companies’ seeming prioritization of profits over healthcare.

Mangione’s 262-word “manifesto,” found with him at his arrest in Pennsylvania, indicated his anger about UnitedHealthcare in particular, although authorities say he does not appear to have been a client of that company.

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[Featured image: Luigi Mangione, a suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is escorted by heavily armed New York police, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)]