Earlier today, Luigi Mangione, who is charged with the murder of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson on December 4, appeared in a New York court after being transported by authorities from Pennsylvania, where he waived extradition. Mangione was brought by plane to Long Island and then boarded a helicopter to Manhattan, where New York City Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch were waiting for him, and then transported with a police escort that included a number of armored officers with long guns. “Police Commissioner Tisch and I are going to send a very clear and loud message that this act of terrorism and violence that stems from it is something that will not be tolerated,” said the mayor, who is facing federal corruption charges that are scheduled to go to trial next Spring.
While Mangione Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg unsealed charges against Mangione on Tuesday, he is now facing a new federal indictment, which include stalking and murder through the use of a firearm, the latter of these being an offense that could see him face life in prison or even the death penalty. Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Edward Y. Kim, has not yet stated whether or not he will seek the death penalty in this case.
The 26-year-old Mangione’s attorneys, husband-and-wife team Karen Friedman Agnifilo and Marc Agnifilo, argued in court today that the federal and state-level charges contradict each other, as Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg has brought terrorism charges against Mangione claiming that he threatened a “population of people,” while the federal charges accuse him of stalking, which implies targeting one person in particular. The judge in the case, Gregory Carro, told the attorneys to sort out the situation out of court.. Friedman Agnifilo described the fact of facing these two separate prosecutions as “highly unusual.”
The Agnifilo duo’s lawfirm also represents Sean “Diddy” Combs, who will face federal human trafficking charges next Spring. Mangione and Combs are being held in the same jail, MDC Brooklyn. Mangione will be there until his preliminary hearing, which is scheduled for January 18.
