A Manhattan judge dismissed two murder charges related to acts of terrorism against Luigi Mangione, the accused killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Mangione appeared in court for a pre-trial hearing in New York City, where Judge Gregory Carro dismissed the most serious charge against him — ruling that first-degree murder in furtherance of an act of terrorism was not supported by the evidence. Mangione still faces a second-degree murder charge in New York, along with separate federal murder charges. Although New York does not impose capital punishment, Mangione could face the death penalty in his federal case.
Prosecutors had argued that Mangione’s actions were intended to intimidate or pressure UnitedHealthcare employees, but Judge Carro ruled those claims fell short of what is required under New York’s terrorism laws. The judge wrote in a decision issued on Tuesday morning that “while the defendant was clearly expressing an animus toward UHC, and the health care industry generally, it does not follow that his goal was to ‘intimidate and coerce a civilian population,’ and indeed, there was no evidence presented of such a goal .. While the People place great emphasis on [the] defendant’s ‘ideological’ motive, there is no indication in the statute that a murder committed for ideological reasons (in this case, the defendant’s apparent desire to draw attention to what he perceived as inequities or greed within the American health care system), fits within the definition of terrorism without establishing the necessary element of an intent to intimidate or coerce.”
In response to the ruling, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said in a statement, “We respect the court’s decision and will move forward on the remaining nine charges, including second-degree murder.”
Mangione is accused of fatally shooting Brian Thompson, the 50-year-old CEO of UnitedHealthcare, outside a midtown Manhattan hotel on December 4, 2024. In addition to the New York and federal cases, Mangione faces charges in Pennsylvania, including forgery, illegal possession of a firearm, tampering with documents, providing false identification to police, and possession of instruments of crime. He has pleaded not guilty to all accusations, and is currently being held without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Mangione’s defense team has also filed motions to suppress items taken from his backpack – which allegedly contained a firearm, ammunition, and handwritten notes – and are further challenging the admissibility of statements Mangione made to police after his arrest on December 9 at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Mangione’s attorneys claim the backpack search was conducted without a warrant, and that he was questioned without being read his Miranda rights. Judge Carro has not yet ruled on those issues.
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