Suspect in the murder of Luigi Mangione, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare Brian Thompsonhe is refusing extradition and will be transported to New York shortly.
The news comes after Mangione appeared in court Thursday morning in Blair County, Pennsylvania.
Luigi Nicholas Mangione arrives at the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg on Thursday, December 19, 2024.
Gene J. Puskar/AP
A special edition of “20/20,” airing Dec. 19 on ABC, featured the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the arrest of Ivy League-turned-assassin Luigi Mangione.
Spectators gathered outside the courtroom as Mangione was led inside.
One bystander held up a sign that read, “Deny, defend, remove.” echoing the written words in shell casings and a bullet at the scene of the murder.
Adam Giesseman, who held a sign reading “Free Luigi” and “Killing for profit is terrorism,” told ABC News, “Our country is broken.”
Another bystander, who only gave her name as Natalie, expressed frustration that the insurance system is “set up for profit over people’s health”.
“It’s unfortunate that this happened, and I’m not glorifying it in any way, but it has brought attention to an issue that affects all Americans,” he said.
Mangion faces an 11-count indictment by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and is also expected to face federal charges in the Southern District of New York, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
The SDNY and the FBI’s New York office both declined to comment.
Mangione could face the death penalty on the federal charges. He faces a maximum prison sentence without parole if convicted on the state charges.
Mangione’s New York attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said in a statement, “The federal government’s reported decision to pile on top of an already charged first-degree murder and state terrorism case is highly unusual and creates serious constitutional and statutory double jeopardy.”
A New York City police officer stands outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan, where UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed, on Dec. 4, 2024, in New York.
Stefan Jeremiah/AP
“We are ready to fight these charges, in whatever court they are presented,” added Agnifilo.
Danielle Filson, a spokeswoman for Manhattan attorney Alvin Bragg, said, “The state case will be conducted concurrently with any federal case.”
Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson of New York, is pictured after his extradition hearing at the Blair County Court House in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania on December 10, 2024.
Eduardo Munoz/Reuters
Mangione, 26, is accused of killing Thompson on Dec. 4 outside a Hilton hotel while the UnitedHealthcare CEO was on his way to an investor conference. Prosecutors said Mangion waited nearly an hour for Thompson to arrive.
A Manhattan grand jury upgraded the charges against Mangione to include first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
The killing in the heart of Midtown Manhattan was “intended to cause panic,” Bragg said.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks during a news conference on December 17, 2024 in New York.
Kent J. Edwards/Reuters
In New York, Mangione is charged with two counts of second-degree murder, one count of murder as an act of terrorism; two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree; four counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree; one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree; and one count of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree.
In Pennsylvania, where Mangione was arrested Dec. 9 after nearly a week on the run, he faces charges including possession of an elusive ghost gun. Mangion was in possession of a 9mm handgun with a 3D-printed receiver, a homemade silencer, two ammunition magazines and live cartridges when he was seized, prosecutors said.
ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
