After renouncing his right to an extradition hearing on Thursday, Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is anticipated to be flown back to New York as early as today to face a number of charges.
Mangione showed up for a preliminary hearing and to discuss extradition in a Blair County, Pennsylvania, court on Thursday morning.
Mangione supporters were spotted this morning outside the courthouse.Huntingdon State Correctional Institution in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, is where he is being detained.
On Tuesday, New York prosecutors indicted Mangione on 11 counts related to Thompson’s ambush murder. Thompson was murdered on December 4 while he was strolling through Midtown Manhattan to give a speech at a conference.
Mangione intended to waive extradition, which means he wouldn’t fight being sent to another jurisdiction to face charges, an insider with knowledge of the matter told NBC News on Tuesday.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg stated that his office had received word that Mangione would forego extradition and would be immediately transferred to New York.
In response to the indictment, New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared Wednesday morning that “New York stands ready to do whatever it takes to hold the killer accountable.”
“The defendant is reportedly going to give up his right to extradition. If not, I’m ready to ask for a governor’s warrant right away to make sure he’s detained and tried in New York,” she continued.
After a five-day manhunt, the 26-year-old Ivy League graduate was taken into custody on December 9 at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. There, he is charged with misdemeanor using bogus identification and felony counts of forgery and carrying a firearm without a license.
Given that UnitedHealthcare is one of the biggest private health insurers in the nation, New York police have speculated that Mangione may have singled out Thompson. According to his writings and social media presence, Mangione had a horrible back ailment that changed his life and has gripped over the healthcare system and corporate America.
According to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s statement, he is charged with eleven counts in the New York indictment, including first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, one of which is charged as a killing in the act of terrorism, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, four counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, one count of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and one count of second-degree criminal possession of a forged paper.
Thomas Dickey, Mangione’s Pennsylvania lawyer, has stated that he would enter a not guilty plea in both the New York and Pennsylvania cases.
Federal prosecutorsare also looking into whether to charge Mangione, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News Wednesday.
Karen Friedman Agnifilo, one of the attorneys representing Mangione on the New York charges, said Wednesday night that they are ready to fight these charges in whatever court they are brought.
The federal government s reported decision to pile on top of an already overcharged first-degree murder and state terror case is highly unusual and raises serious constitutional and statutory double jeopardy concerns, she said.
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