Mayor, Dozens of Cops Meet Helicopter Carrying Mangione

Feds unseal charges including murder against alleged killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 19, 2024 1:35 PM CST
Updated Dec 19, 2024 4:10 PM CST
Feds File Murder Charge Against Luigi Mangione
Luigi Mangione is escorted by police, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, in New York.   (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Federal charges against Luigi Mangione, including a murder charge that could carry the death penalty, were unsealed Thursday as the 26-year-old was brought to New York City from Pennsylvania. The four federal charges also include two counts of stalking and a firearms offense, the New York Times reports. The federal complaint accuses Mangione of crossing state lines to stalk and kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, which would give the federal government jurisdiction, the Times reports. The complaint accuses Mangione of using electronic communications and interstate highways in "the stalking, shooting, and killing" of the CEO.

Mangione agreed to be extradited during a court appearance in Pennsylvania on Thursday. After he was taken to Manhattan by helicopter Thursday afternoon, he was escorted by numerous heavily armed law enforcement officers, along with officials including New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The "perp walk" was a "substantial departure from how federal suspects are normally processed," CNN notes. "The security around Mangione today is because of what they've been seeing in terms of the public support for him and their security worries about somebody not trying to attack him, but to try and free him from law enforcement," says CNN law enforcement analyst John Miller.

Mangione appeared in front of a federal judge in New York City at around 3pm, CBS News reports. His attorneys said they are not requesting bail at this point, but reserve the right to do so later. He was ordered held until a Jan. 18 preliminary hearing. Mangione was taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York City's only federal lockup, CNN reports.

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The federal complaint has new information on the notebook Mangione was allegedly carrying when he was arrested in Pennsylvania five days after the shooting, NBC News reports. The complaint states that the notebook includes "several handwritten pages that express hostility toward the health insurance industry and wealthy executives in particular." In an Aug. 15 entry, Mangione wrote that "the details are finally coming together" and "the target is insurance," according to the complaint. Mangione also faces state charges including first-degree murder. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's office says the state case will proceed in parallel with the federal prosecution, the Times reports. This story has been updated with details of the federal hearing. (More Luigi Mangione stories.)

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