The man accused of gunning down a health insurance executive in a brazen hit in New York that sparked fierce debate about the industry pleaded not guilty Monday to state charges including “terrorist” murder.
Monday’s hearing came after Mangione, 26, appeared in a New York court last week to face federal charges also including murder following his dramatic extradition by plane and helicopter from Pennsylvania, where he was arrested at a McDonald’s restaurant. The suspect is charged in both state and federal court in the December 4 shooting of UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson.
People demonstrating against the industry gathered outside court Monday brandishing banners reading “free Luigi” and “innocent until proven guilty.”
If convicted in the state case, Mangione could face life imprisonment with no parole. In the federal case, he could technically face the death penalty.
Mangioni’s attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo has previously sought clarity on how simultaneous federal and state charges would work, calling the situation “highly unusual.”
Agnifilo raised concerns on Monday that Mangione could not receive a fair trial, and questioned why New York mayor Eric Adams had been present when Mangione was brought off a police helicopter at a Manhattan helipad last week. Aginifilo told local media Monday that officials “are treating him like he is like some sort of political fodder.” She said the sight of Mangione flanked by rifle-wielding tactical officers during the final stage of his extradition that was widely broadcast was “utterly political.”
Luigi isn’t poor or without money, though.
Which, hopefully, he can use some of that for his attorney. That’s the problem with our dystopia. The poor are far too powerless to take matters into their own hands. They don’t have access to 3D printers, let alone ammunition and the academic rigour that wealth can provide to plot something like this. And I’m not talking the whole "getting away from it part. The hit was calculated.
That’s why the elite are pressing so hard against this. If more of their own (but lesser) become sympathetic to the larger population, then they are truly fucked.
Revolutions need resources. We’re in a society where the resources are so well controlled and industrialized that every little bit is tracked. It’s up to the people with any power to do something to do it.
That’s the message the elite doesnt want to spread. They don’t want people that have basic human empathy to turn against their handlers.