Mangione to have first court appearance since arraignment for allegedly killing healthcare CEO

Luigi Mangione, the man charged in connection with the execution-style killing of a UnitedHealthcare CEO last year, will appear in New York court Friday to face additional charges. 

Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state charges but has yet to enter a plea on federal murder charges related to the fatal, Dec. 4, 2024, shooting of UHC division CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan sidewalk.

A Manhattan grand jury has charged Mangione with an 11-count indictment, which includes one of murder in the first-degree and two of murder in the second-degree, along with other weapon and forgery charges, according to an ABC-TV station in Philadelphia.

The first-degree murder charge alleges the 26-year-old Mangione killed Thompson "in furtherance of an act of terrorism," which is legally defined as an intent to intimidate or coerce the civilian population or a government unit. One of the second-degree counts also alleges Mangione committed murder "as a crime of terrorism," the news outlet also reports.

If convicted, Mangione will face life in prison without parole, according to the office of Manhattan's district attorney. He also faces charges in Pennsylvania, were he was capture in a days-long manhunt after Thompson's killing. 

Mangione's attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said in December she wasn't sure if her client will get a fair trial.

"He's a young man and he's being treated like a human pingpong ball by two warring jurisdictions here," Agnifilo said during his state court hearing. "They're treating him like a human spectacle."