New York (New York, USA), Dec. 23 (LaPresse/AP) – Luigi Mangione, 26, the man accused of shooting and killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, appeared in a Manhattan court and pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and terrorism. His court appearance is part of a state-level proceeding in New York, which will run concurrently with a federal case.
Mangione is accused of killing Thompson on a Manhattan street on the morning of December 4. He was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania, where authorities found a pistol matching the weapon used in the shooting and a fake ID. According to federal prosecutors, he also had a notebook expressing hostility toward the health insurance industry and particularly its wealthiest executives.
The federal charges could carry the death penalty, while the maximum sentence for the state charges is life without parole. Prosecutors have stated that the two cases will proceed in parallel, with the state charges expected to go to trial first.
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