NEW YORK (AP) — A judge on Tuesday dismissed terrorist charges against Luigi Mangion in a New York case against the murder of United Healthcare's Brian Thompson, but he maintained the state's second-degree murder charge.
In a written decision released when Mangion appeared in court, Judge Gregory Caro said that while murder is undoubtedly not a normal street crime, New York law does not consider terrorism simply because it was motivated by ideology.
“The defendant clearly expressed anise to UHC, but the healthcare industry generally does not continue with that his goal was to “blackmail and force civilians.” In fact, no evidence of such a goal has been presented,” Karo wrote.
The judge also said there was insufficient evidence that Mangion intended to influence or influence government policies through threats or coercion, and federal prosecutors said Mangione chose not to claim terrorist crimes, despite the federal terrorism law serving as a model for state law.
However, by maintaining the second-degree murder charge, Caro found there was sufficient evidence that Mangion “had killed Brian Thompson in a planned and calculated run.”
Mangion's lawyers did not comment after the hearing.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office issued a short statement saying, “We respect the court's decision and proceed with the remaining nine counts.”
The judge had scheduled a pretrial hearing in the December 1st case. This is the next few days before Mangion was in the courtroom in a federal case against him.
Read more: Luigi Mangione sues not to commit federal death penalty claims in murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO
Mangion was handcuffed and bound to appear in court
It was Mangione's first court appearance in a state case since February. Dressed in beige prison clothes, he was handcuffed and his ankles were tied up as police officers forced him in and out of court. He was mostly silent, talking to his lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo. While leaving the courtroom he appeared cheerfully and raised an eyebrow at the crowd in the gallery.
The 27-year-old Ivy League alumnus attracted cult following as a substitute for his dissatisfaction with the health insurance industry. Mangion's supporters took up three rows in the courtroom gallery. As was the case at his last hearing, dozens of supporters, mostly women, even appeared on Tuesday's lawsuit. Some were dressed in green – the colour worn by Mario Bros video game character Luigi – as a symbol of solidarity, one woman wore a “free Luigi” T-shirt.
Outside, some supporters gathered across the street from the court cheered and applauded as news of the dropped terrorist charges spread.
Mangion previously pleaded not guilty to multiple numbers of murders, including murder, on December 4, 2024. Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shot Thompson from behind when he arrived for an investor meeting in Hilton Midtown, New York. Police say “delay,” “deny,” and “retirement” were scribbled with ammunition, mimicking commonly used phrases to explain how insurance companies avoid paying claims.
Mangion was arrested five days after being spotted eating breakfast at McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles (370 km) west of New York City. Since then, he has been held in the same Brooklyn federal prison where Sean “Diddy” Comb is trapped.
Judge refuses to argue “double risk”
Mangion's lawyers argued that federal death penalty prosecution, alongside the New York case, amounted to double risk. However, Karo refused to discuss the argument and said it was too early to make such a decision.
Bragg's office argued that there was no double risk issue as state and federal prosecutors include different legal theories, as they have not been tried in either of the Mangion cases.
Mangion's lawyer said the duel cases created a “legal quagmire” that “follows simultaneously defending them both legally and logistically.”
The second-degree murder charge carries a potential penalty of a 15-year prison penalty and is likely to be parole 25 years later. The federal complaint alleges that Mangion stole Thompson and does not involve any terrorism allegations.
Diary Works: Basics of Terrorist Accusations
Attorney General Pam Bondy announced in April that he had ordered federal prosecutors to seek death penalty for “political violence” and “deliberate, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.”
Bragg's office has extensively cited Mangion's handwritten diary to courts seeking to uphold his state's murder charges. They highlighted his desire to kill the insurance Hongcho and his admiration for Ted Kaczynsky, the late terrorist known as Unabomber.
In his book, the prosecutor meditated on Mangion's rebellion against the “fatal and greedy health insurance cartel,” and said killing industry executives “telling the greedy asshole that came.” They also cited a confession that he wrote “to the federal government,” where he wrote “it had to be done.”
Mangion's “intentions were evident from his actions, but his writings help to make those intents explicit,” the prosecutor said in his June application. The books they sometimes described as a manifesto “convey a clear message that the murder of Brian Thompson was intended to revolutionize the healthcare industry.”
In Tuesday's ruling, Karo said terrorism was “hard to define.” He criticized the state prosecutors for highlighting the phrase “revolutionary anarchism” in Mangion's diary when he accused them of intending to influence the government by intimidation or coercion.
“This not only expands the import of two-word phrases beyond what can be carried, but also ignores other clearer excerpts that say his goal is to spread the “message” and that his goal is to “win the public support” for “all mistakes in our health system,” the judge wrote.
Associated Press Writer Dave Collins from Hartford, Connecticut contributed to the report.
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