Luigi Nicholas Mangione, the 26-year-old accused of fatal shooting United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in an attack in Midtown Manhattan last week, has announced that he will fight being extradited 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 killing Thompson in New York hours after his arrest, as well as a series of lesser crimes in Pennsylvania.
Getting out of a police car, Mangione gave a largely unintelligible message to reporters, though he referred to it as an “insult to the intelligence of the American people.”
At the brief hearing, his defense attorney, Thomas Dickey, told the court that Mangione would fight to be extradited to New York, asking for a hearing on the matter. He has 14 days to file a formal challenge to being transferred to New York, and in the meantime, he will be held in Pennsylvania without bail.
While in court, Mangione was wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, alternately looking forward, looking at papers and looking back at the gallery. He was silenced at one point by his lawyer when he tried to speak.
The court appearance came six days after a gunman fatally shot Thompson, the head of one of the largest health insurance companies in the United States, outside a hotel in Midtown Manhattan.
The the nature of brass of the attack – and the day-long manhunt – made a national impact. Even as they condemned the violence, many experts, doctors and US citizens said it was a symbol of the country's underlying anger towards the health care industry, where high costs leave many patients vulnerable to the will of insurers.
A bullet casing found at the scene of the murder contained the words “deny”, “defend” and “depose”, apparently referring to a phrase used by critics to describe how insurers health avoiding claim payments. The gunman fled on an electric bicycle to Central Park, and later boarded a bus out of town.
In the days since the attack, there have been many taken to social media to share accounts of insurance companies denying claims. The sentiment has prompted authorities to brace for copycat attacks, according to a law enforcement memo obtained by US media.
The White House has also weighed in.
“Of course, this is shocking,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Tuesday. “Violence against any form of corporate greed is unacceptable.”
More details are emerging
The law enforcement memo, based on Mangione's writings, some of which were recovered at the time of his arrest, said Mangione appeared to be motivated by what he described as “parasitic” health insurance companies. and complete disregard for physical greed.
Authorities have said there was a 3D-printed gun, eyeglasses and several fake IDs, including one believed to be used by the attacker to check into a hostel in New York before the shooting. has been recovered when Mangione was arrested.
According to the memo, Mangione had written that the US has the most expensive health care system in the world and that the profits of major corporations continue to increase while “our life expectancy” does not.
The document said Mangione may have been inspired by the so-called “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski, whom he called a “political revolution”. Kaczynski had made a series of bombs from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s railing against modern society, technology and the destruction of the environment. His attacks killed three people.
The image that has emerged since Mangione's arrest also resembles Kaczynski, who was considered a mathematical masterpiece.
Mangione comes from an influential family in Baltimore, Maryland, and was valedictorian at an elite Baltimore prep school. He went on to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science in 2020 from the University of Pennsylvania, a prestigious Ivy League school.
Known as friendly and understanding, some friends have said in interviews with the US media that Mangione's behavior changed after a recent surgery on his spine.
“Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi's arrest,” Mangione's family said in a statement posted on social media late Monday by his cousin, Delaware state legislator Nino Mangione.
“We offer our prayers to Brian Thomson's family, and we ask people to pray for everyone involved. “
