Luigi Mangione charged with murdering healthcare CEO ‘as an act of terrorism’
A man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare’s CEO has been charged with murder as an act of terrorism.
Luigi Mangione, 26, was indicted on additional charges including first-degree murder in UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s death by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Thompson, 50, was gunned down on the back and leg in front of a Midtown Manhattan hotel on December 4. It ‘was a killing that was intended to evoke terror’ and ‘we’ve seen that reaction’, said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Tuesday afternoon.
‘This was a frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation,’ stated Bragg.
‘It occurred in one of the most bustling parts of our city, threatened the safety of local residents and tourists alike, commuters and businesspeople just starting out on their day.’
The new terror allegation can be brought in New York when an a crime is ‘intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policies of a unit of government by intimidation or coercion and affect the conduct of a unit of government by murder, assassination or kidnapping’.
Tuesday’s indictment from the state Supreme Court charges Mangione with two counts of second-degree murder including one deeming the killing an act of terrorism; two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon; four counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon; a count of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon; and a count of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument.
New York Police Department commissioner Jessica Tisch said that ‘the unsealing of today’s indictment brings us one step closer to securing justice for Brian Thompson and his family and affirming the primacy of the rule of law in the city of New York’.
Mangione’s New York attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, declined to comment on the new charges.
Last week, Mangione was charged in New York with murder, criminal possession of a weapon and possessing a forged instrument.
Mangione is being held at a Pennsylvania state prison after being arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona five days after Thompson’s slaying.
In Pennsylvania, Mangione has been arraigned on felony charges including carrying a firearm without a license and forgery.
The Ivy League graduate has two court hearings scheduled in Pennsylvania on Thursday, including one on extradition to New York.
Agnifilo told CNN that Mangione will not be fighting extradition.
His Pennsylvania attorney, Thomas Dickey, previously said he would plead not guilty in the cases in both states.
If convicted, Mangione faces life in prison without parole, said Bragg’s office.
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