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Mangione is an Ivy League graduate who hails from a prominent family in Maryland. He was arrested on December 9 and charged with the murder of Thompson.
Luigi Mangione was indicted on 11 charges, including first-degree murder and murder as a crime of terrorism. (AP)
A grand jury in New York indicted Luigi Mangione for first-degree murder as an act of terrorism in connection with the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4. Mangione faces a total of 11 charges, including three counts of murder along with other weapon and forgery charges, as per court documents.
Prosecutors also charged the 26-year-old Mangione with second-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism and another count of second-degree murder, according to The New York Times. “This was a frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation,” said Manhattan district attorney Alvin L Bragg on Tuesday.
The assassination of Brian Thompson in broad daylight outside a Manhattan hotel before a company conference sparked a five-day manhunt and polarised Americans, with many venting their frustrations on health insurance companies while struggling to pay for medical care. Some have voiced their support for the gunman and donated thousands of dollars for his legal fees.
Prosecutors on Tuesday said Mangione’s actions were aimed at furthering terrorism and merited a charge of first-degree murder. His actions were “intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population” and to “affect the conduct of a unit of government by murder”.
What Will Happen To Mangione?
Bragg further stressed that Mangione intended to “sow terror” and that he could not think of another office more equipped to handle a terrorism charge in response to the “brazen, targeted and premeditated shooting”.
If convicted of all charges, Mangione faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Last week, prosecutors said that Mangione would face a second-degree murder charge.
Mangione is currently being held on gun charges in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested last week at a McDonald’s restaurant in the city of Altoona. A hearing over Mangione’s extradition is scheduled for Thursday in Pennsylvania.
Some US states define first-degree murder as a premeditated killing, but New York requires an additional aggravating circumstance, including terrorism, torture or killing a witness or a law officer.
‘No Heroism’ In Mangione’s Actions: Police
According to police, Mangione arrived outside a Hilton hotel in New York, masked and hooded, and waited for Thompson on the day of the shooting. As the chief health executive walked to the entrance for a conference, Mangione came up behind him and shot him with a 3D-printed 9mm handgun equipped with a suppressor.
After a five-day manhunt for the suspect who police say escaped on a bicycle, Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania while eating hash browns and looking at a laptop, as he was recognised by a fellow customer. He was found in possession of a ghost gun, a suppressor and several counterfeit identification cards.
Authorities also found a three-page handwritten manifesto detailing his grievances with corporate America, which is speculated to be the motivation behind his alleged attack.
However, Luigi has become a divisive figure in America, with over a thousand donations for his legal defence, including messages supporting him and even celebrating Thompson’s murder. New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said any attempt to rationalise Mangione’s alleged actions was “vile.”
“There is no heroism in what Mangione did,” Tisch told reporters. “We don’t celebrate murders and we don’t lionise the killing of anyone.”
(with agency inputs)
- Location :
New York, United States of America (USA)