On Monday, Luigi Mangione entered a not guilty plea to murder and terrorism charges in connection with the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Mangione rolled up to the arraignment in a maroon sweater, white shirt, khaki pants, and some wild orange kicks, all while his hands and feet were shackled. He told Judge Gregory Carro of Manhattan Supreme Court that he plans to plead not guilty to serious state murder charges, which include allegations of terrorism.
His lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, raised some serious concerns about whether her client can actually get a fair trial. Last week, when he was brought in, he was surrounded by a squad of heavily armed NYPD and FBI agents, making for a pretty intense scene as he was escorted from a helicopter to the courtroom.
“I am concerned about my client’s right to a fair trial. He is being prejudiced by these statements, and no safeguards are in place,” Friedman Agnifilo told Judge Carro on Monday. “He’s a young man being treated like a human ping-pong ball.”
“It was the biggest perp walk I’ve ever seen. What was the New York City mayor even doing there? These staged perp walks are unconstitutional,” said Friedman Agnifilo. “The mayor should know about due process, given his own problems. I think he was there to try to take away from those issues. He wanted to show symbolism. But my client is not a symbol.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is laying it out, accusing Mangione of taking out UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in a bold, targeted shooting right outside a Midtown hotel on December 4. Now, Mangione’s facing some serious heat with first and second-degree murder charges, plus weapons and forgery charges on top of that.
On top of everything, the accused killer is also dealing with federal murder charges that could put him on the hook for the death penalty. He’s got weapons and forgery charges hanging over him in Pennsylvania too, where he got caught after a five-day manhunt.
He’s pleaded not guilty to the charges in Pennsylvania, but he hasn’t made a move on the federal charges yet.
Mangione is currently locked up at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, the same spot where Sean “Diddy” Combs is being held. Interestingly, they even share a lawyer—Marc Agnifilo, who happens to be the husband of Mangione’s attorney, Karen.
In the courtroom, it wasn’t just attorneys and reporters; Mangione had about two dozen folks from the public there too, mostly young women. He’s set to return to court on February 21.
