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Luigi Nicholas Mangione, the 26-year-old accused who fatally shot United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in an attack in midtown Manhattan last week has indicated he will fight extradition to New York to face murder charges.
Mangione appeared in court in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, a day after he was arrested in the town of Altoona following a tip from a McDonald’s employee. He was charged with Thompson’s murder in New York hours after his arrest, as well as a list of misdemeanors in Pennsylvania.
Stepping out of a police car, Mangione gave a partly unintelligible message to reporters, though he referred to an “insult to the intelligence of the American people.”
In the brief hearing, his defense attorney, Thomas Dickey, told the court that Mangione would challenge the extradition to New York, requesting a hearing on the issue. He has 14 days to file a formal challenge to being transferred to New York and will be held in Pennsylvania without bail in the meantime.
While in court, Mangione wore an orange prison jumpsuit, alternating between looking straight ahead, looking at the papers and looking back at the gallery. His lawyer silenced him at one point when he tried to speak.
The court appearance came six days after a gunman killed Thompson, the head of one of America’s largest health insurance companies, outside a midtown Manhattan hotel.
The cheeky nature of the attack – and the manhunt for days – generated national intrigue. Even as they condemned the violence, many experts, doctors and American citizens said it was emblematic of the country’s current anger at the health care industry, where high costs leave many patients vulnerable to the will of insurers .
Bullet casings found at the scene of the killing bore the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose,” which appeared to refer to a phrase used by critics to describe how health insurers avoid paying out claims. The gunman fled on an electric bicycle to Central Park and later boarded a bus out of the city.
In the days since the attack, many have taken to social networks share accounts from insurance companies that deny claims. The sentiment has led authorities to stick to copycat attacks, according to a law enforcement memo obtained by US media.
The White House has also intervened.
“Obviously, this is horrible,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Tuesday. “Violence to combat any kind of corporate greed is unacceptable.”
More details are coming
The law enforcement memo, which was based on Mangione’s writings, some of which were recovered at the time of his arrest, said Mangione was likely motivated by what he described as health insurance companies “parasites” and a general disdain for corporate greed.
Authorities have said a 3D-printed handgun, a suppressor and several fake IDs, including one believed to have been used by the attacker to check into a hostel in New York before the shooting. recovered when Mangione was arrested.
According to the memo, Mangione had written that the United States has the most expensive health care system in the world and that the profits of large corporations continue to rise while “our life expectancy” does not.
The document adds that Mangione may have been inspired by so-called “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski, whom he called a “political revolutionary.” Kaczynski had carried out a series of attacks from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s against modern society, technology and the destruction of the environment. Their attacks killed three.
The profile that has emerged since Mangione’s arrest also bears some similarities to Kaczynski, who was considered a math prodigy.
Mangione came from an influential family in Baltimore, Maryland, and was the promoter of an elite Baltimore prep school. In 2020, he earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania, a prestigious Ivy League school.
Known as affable and intelligent, some friends have said in interviews with American media that Mangione’s demeanor changed after recent spine surgery.
“Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest,” Mangione’s family said in a statement posted Monday on social media by his cousin, Delaware state lawmaker Nino Mangione.
“We offer our prayers to Brian Thompson’s family and ask people to pray for everyone involved.”
