Luigi Mangione appeared in Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday to plead not guilty to first-degree murder charges against UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Mangione entered the courtroom at 9:26 a.m. with his feet chained, wearing a maroon sweater over a white collared shirt, tan khakis and orange prison shoes.
At least 20 women packed the courtroom, with only six men listening.
“Sir, how do you plead against this indictment? Guilty or not guilty?” Judge Gregory Caro asked.
Mr. Mangione replied, “Not guilty.”
Mangione's attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, argued before Judge Caro and ADA Joel Seideman that she was “very concerned” about her client's “right to a fair trial.”
“He is biased by the statements of some government officials,” Agnifilo said.
“He's a young man and he's being treated like a human ping pong ball.”
Ms. Agnifilo, who arrived at 8:30 a.m. next to her husband, Mark Agnifilo, at 100 Center Street, blamed Mayor Adams and the NYPD for Mr. Mangione's Thursday assault, calling Mr. Adam's appearance “unconstitutional.” He claimed that there was.
“The mayor should know more than anyone about the presumption of innocence…He was trying to distract from those issues.”
Mangione, 26, who was indicted Thursday on federal murder, firearms and stalking charges, was also arraigned in state court last week on 11 charges, including first-degree murder, second-degree murder and several counts of misconduct in aid of terrorism. He was indicted. Charged with gun possession.
After shooting Thompson, 50, with a ghost gun outside the Hilton Hotel in Midtown, the suspect fled the 5th Ward, then drove off on a Citi Bike and jumped on a bus.
After a five-day nationwide manhunt, Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where he stopped at a local McDonald's after getting off a Greyhound bus that was passing through town.
Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from a wealthy Baltimore family, had been planning the killing for months over complaints with the “parasitic” health insurance industry, authorities said.
Since then, the suspected killer has received sick support from people angry at the medical industry.
Mr. Mangione is being held at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, but it has not yet been determined whether he will go to trial first on state or federal murder charges.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said at a press conference announcing Mangione's indictment: “This was a carefully planned, horrific murder case designed to shock, attract attention and intimidate.” .
If convicted of the state charges, he could be sentenced to up to life in prison without parole. His next court appearance is scheduled for February 21st.
