Mangione Indicted for Murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Thompson
The suspect in the Dec. 4 fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan was indicted on Tuesday, Dec. 17, on charges that include murder in the first degree in furtherance of terrorism. The Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York City Policy Commissioner Jessica Tisch discussed the indictment on Tuesday afternoon in a press briefing.
As NBC News’s Dennis Romero and Antonio Planas wrote on Tuesday afternoon, “Luigi Mangione was indicted on charges that include first-degree murder in the ambush killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office announced Tuesday. The indictment on murder in the first-degree in furtherance of terrorism elevates the case against Mangione, 26, in Thompson's killing outside a Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4. The New York state Supreme Court indictment also charges Mangione with two counts of second-degree murder, one of which is charged as a killing in the act of terrorism; two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon; four counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon; one count of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon; and one count of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, according to a statement from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg,” they wrote. And they quoted DA Bragg as calling Thompson’s slaying a “brazen, targeted and premeditated shooting” during a Tuesday afternoon press conference.
Hurubie Meko of the New York Times wrote on Tuesday afternoon that “The assassination of the chief executive, Brian Thompson, on Dec. 4 in the heart of Manhattan set off a dayslong manhunt and captivated Americans, many of whom vented their frustrations on dealings with health insurance companies. Some voiced their support for Mr. Mangione and rooted for him to elude capture. But on Tuesday, prosecutors said that Mr. Mangione’s actions were ‘in furtherance of an act of terrorism.’ They were, prosecutors said, ‘intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population” and to “affect the conduct of a unit of government by murder.’”
Meanwhile, CNN’s John Miller, Emma Tucker, Shimon Prokupecz, Kara Scannell, and Lauren del Valle wrote on Thursday that “The 26-year-old is not going to fight extradition to New York, his lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo told CNN. He is set to appear in a Pennsylvania court for an extradition hearing on Thursday during which a judge will rule on the next steps for him to return to New York to face the indictment. Mangione faces a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, if convicted, according to Bragg’s office.”
“This was a killing that was intended to evoke terror and we’ve seen that reaction,” said Bragg. “… This was not an ordinary killing,” Bragg said. “Not to suggest that any killing is ordinary, but this was extraordinary.”
As the news was breaking, MSNBC’s Alicia Menendez spoke with two noted legal experts, Andrew Weissmann and Lisa Rubin. Weissmann served as General Counsel of the FBI from 2011 to 2013; Rubin is a former federal prosecutor.
Andrew Weissmann told Alicia Menedez on MSNBC that, “Here, when you’ve got an isolated event where it doesn’t appear that he was actively publicizing this and using it to engage in some sort of message to the government, it’s going to be less clear. The public evidence doesn’t seem to support” the allegation of terrorism. But, he immediately added, “This seems like a very strong case” of first-degree murder. “What we’ve seen publicly is such an erratic amalgam of smart things and other things that don’t seem to be terribly smart, such as going to Starbucks beforehand with the equipment on him. It seems to me there might be some grounds for a mental health defense.
Lisa Rubin noted that Luigi Mangione is going to waive extradition from Pennsylvania, where he was apprehended. “I would expect that Luigi Mangione will make his first appearance in New York within a week, perhaps sooner.”
