Luigi Mangione is expected to be in court Friday and enter a plea in his case involving the murder of a UnitedHealthcare executive.
On the federal level, Mangione, 26, is charged with murder through use of a firearm and stalking in the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Dec. 4, CNN reported. His arraignment is Friday.
Thompson was going to a UnitedHealthcare investors’ conference in New York when he was allegedly gunned down by Mangione, who has seen support for his actions by those frustrated with the current state of healthcare in the U.S. Many hold signs reading “Free Luigi” and “Health care is a human right” whenever he makes a court appearance.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice filed a notice Thursday of its intention to seek the death penalty against Mangione, who is also facing state charges in New York and Pennsylvania.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state murder and terror charges in New York. He has yet enter a plea in the charges in Pennsylvania, which include firearm and forgery in connection to the 3D-printed firearm and false identification he had. The Pennsylvania charges stem from when he was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona after a five-day manhunt.
His attorney filed a slew of motions in Pennsylvania. They include dismissing the charges by claiming he was illegally stopped and searched by authorities. They have also requested his writings not be called a manifesto.
Mangione did not have UnitedHealthcare as his insurance, but did have a handbook that showed his “hostility toward the health insurance industry and wealthy executives in particular,” according to a federal complaint.
Three 9mm shell casings from the crime scene had “delay,” “deny” and “depose” written on them, per the NYPD. This has been viewed as an apparent gesture to a 2010 book critiquing the insurance industry.
