Jordan Daily – Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the murder of UnitedHealth Group chief executive Brian Thompson, pleaded not guilty on Monday to New York state murder charges that label him a terrorist.
The 26-year-old Mangione was brought into the 13th-floor courtroom of the New York state criminal courthouse in lower Manhattan, escorted by two court officers, with a group of half a dozen officers following. He was handcuffed and shackled, and was wearing a burgundy sweater over a white collared shirt.
When asked how he pleaded to the 11-count indictment, which includes three murder charges, one being murder as an act of terrorism, Mangione leaned into a microphone and said “not guilty”. If found guilty, he could face life in prison without the possibility of parole.
This was Mangione’s second court appearance in New York since his arrest at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He was apprehended five days after the Dec. 4, 2024, killing of Thompson outside a midtown Manhattan hotel where his company was hosting an investor conference.
In addition to the state charges, Mangione also faces a four-count federal criminal complaint accusing him of stalking and killing Thompson. He has not yet entered a plea to these charges. U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker ordered Mangione detained at a Dec. 19, 2024, presentment on those charges.
During Mangione’s court appearance, more than two dozen members of the public were present in the audience of the courtroom.
