Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges in Manhattan federal court Friday, appearing for the first time since federal prosecutors announced their intent to seek the death penalty in his case.
Earlier this month, a federal grand jury indicted Mangione on four counts in the December killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown.
Prosecutors late Thursday filed their notice of intent to seek the death penalty for the charge of murder with a firearm. Earlier this month, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said her office would seek the death penalty for Mangione, adding that doing so follows President Donald Trump’s “agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again.”
Mangione's lawyers called the government’s plan to seek the death penalty a “political stunt” and said it should be taken off the table.
At Friday’s hearing, Judge Margaret Garnett alluded to Bondi’s statement when Garnett instructed both the prosecutors and his defense attorneys to adhere to a law that puts limits on public statements about an ongoing case. The judge said she raised the issue to ensure Mangione had a fair jury selection process and trial.
She requested that prosecutors from the Southern District of New York convey her instructions to Bondi and her associates at the Justice Department in Washington.
Prosecutors say Mangione traveled to New York in December, stalked Thompson outside of his Midtown hotel and shot him in the back with a homemade “ghost gun.” After the shooting, the NYPD launched a massive search effort for the shooter, and Mangione was arrested days later after being spotted in a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
Mangione’s arrest and Thompson’s killing drew international attention and has energized Americans critical of the U.S. health care system and income inequality in the United States.
On Friday, about two dozen supporters of Mangione's lined up outside the courthouse. Some carried signs that read “free Luigi” and “Luigi before fascists.” They also dressed in clothing that matched the “Luigi” video game character from Super Mario Bros. Prior to the hearing, one anti-Mangione protester arrived outside the courthouse with a large electric chair and shouted about why he should be put to death. During the hearing, supporters filled most every available seat in the courtroom.
Friday’s arraignment was the latest in a series of appearances Mangione has made in both federal and state court, where he is charged with various crimes for Thompson's killing. In addition to the federal charges, Mangione was indicted on 11 state counts and faces life in prison if convicted in that case. He’s pleaded not guilty to the state charges he faces.
Defense attorney Karen Agnifilo told the judge that because the death penalty is on the table, Mangione's team wants the federal trial to go forward before the state trial.
She also told the judge that a phone call between her and Mangione was recorded while he was in a federal jail in Brooklyn and provided to someone in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. She said the recording may have violated attorney-client privilege. The judge asked federal prosecutors to send her a letter describing how the recording was made, and how it was passed to someone in the district attorney’s office.
Since Mangione’s arrest, his attorneys have challenged the legality of a search by officers during his arrest, questioned tactics by investigators in the state case and requested a judge take the death penalty off the table in his federal case.
Agnifilo wrote in a motion earlier this month that Bondi’s public statement instructing prosecutors to seek the death penalty could unfairly influence a jury. She also argued Bondi’s statement was blatantly political and against DOJ protocol.
“The United States government intends to kill Mr. Mangione as a political stunt,” Agnifilo wrote in the motion.
In their response, prosecutors argued it was far too early in the case for Mangione to challenge whether the death penalty can legally be sought.
