Luigi Mangione entered a not guilty plea on Monday to state charges in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. His defense team objected to the police putting him on well-planned, wholly political pity walks.
At his arraignment before Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro, Mangione donned light-colored slacks and a white shirt underneath a maroon sweater. The Supreme Court is New York’s highest trial court.
Last Thursday, Manhattan prosecutors unveiled an 11-count indictment accusing Mangione of a number of offenses related to the murder on December 4.
First-degree murder, terrorist acts, unlawful gun possession, and forgery by using a phony identification document in the days prior to the murder are among the charges.
During the brief hearing, when he spoke with defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo and prison expert Craig Rothfeld, who assists defendants with confinement matters, Mangione entered a not guilty plea to all charges.
As they signed documents related to his ongoing federal detention at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, Mangione seemed to be completely focused on his lawyers.
Instead of posting $1 symbolic bond, Carro ordered Mangione to stay in detention. Mangione has no realistic chance of being released until trial and is being kept in federal jail without bail.
Friedman Agnifilo expressed concern about the intense media attention she claimed law enforcement was generating by publicly introducing Mangione during court appearances and police station visits.
She expressed her deep worry for her client’s right to a fair trial.
Friedman Agnifilo called the public parades “perfectly choreographed, utterly political” and “absolutely unnecessary,” accusing Mayor Eric Adams of being responsible for the “perp walks.”
Regarding Adams, a former captain of the New York Police Department who is facing federal corruption allegations, she stated that the mayor should be the one with the most knowledge of the presumption of innocence.
Mangione was swiftly transferred to New York City after he refused extradition from Pennsylvania last week. He arrived by plane and then helicopter en route to face federal charges.
When Mangione stepped off the helicopter, heavily armed police greeted him, and TV news cameras captured his walk to a neighboring van, making the transfer exceptionally high-profile.
According to the judge, he has limited authority over events that take place outside of his courtroom.
A representative of Adams didn’t directly answer Friedman Agnifilo’s allegations of showboating Mangione’s arrest but he said no one should be glorifying the suspect.
“The cold-blooded assassination of Brian Thompson a father of two and the terror it infused on the streets of New York City for days has since been sickeningly glorified, shining a spotlight on the darkest corners of the internet,” a spokesman for Kayla Mamelak Altus stated in a
“Mayor Adams priority is and always has been public safety, and he has repeatedly spoken about how social media is fueling the radicalization of our youth,” she stated. “Critics can say all they want, but showing up to support our law enforcement and sending the message to New Yorkers that violence and vitriol have no place in our city is who Mayor Eric Adams is to his core.”
Mangione’s next New York City court date was set for Feb. 21.
Mangione, 26, was arrested at aMcDonald s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after a five-day search in the wake ofThompson’s slaying.
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