Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty on Friday to a federal murder charge in the killing of UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson as prosecutors declared their intention to seek the death penalty and the judge warned the Justice Department to stop making public comments that could spoil the case.
Mr Mangione, 26, stood with his lawyers as he entered the plea, leaning forward towards a microphone on the defence table as US District Judge Margaret Garnett asked him if understood the indictment, which charges him with stalking and shooting Mr Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel last December.
“Yes,” he said. Asked how he wished to plead, he said “not guilty” and sat down.
A cause celebre for people upset with the US health insurance industry, Mr Mangione’s appearance attracted several dozen people to the Manhattan federal courthouse, including former army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, who served prison time for stealing classified diplomatic cables.
Mr Mangione, held in a federal jail in Brooklyn since his arrest, arrived to court in a mustard-coloured jail suit and chatted with one of his lawyers, death penalty specialist Avi Moskowitz, as they waited for the arraignment to begin.
On Thursday, federal prosecutors filed a required notice of their intention to seek the death penalty.
Given the many legal issues involved in capital cases, Mr Mangione’s case will move much slowly that non-death penalty prosecutions. He is scheduled to return to federal court on December 5, a day after the anniversary of Mr Thompson’s death. No trial date has been set in either the federal or his parallel state murder case.
That came weeks after US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that she would be directing federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for what she called “an act of political violence” and a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America”.
It was the first time the Justice Department said it was pursuing capital punishment since President Donald Trump returned to office January 20 with a vow to resume federal executions after they were halted under the Biden administration.
Mr Mangione’s lawyers argue that Ms Bondi’s announcement – which she followed with posts on Instagram account and a TV appearance – was a “political stunt” that broke long-established Justice Department protocols, corrupted the grand jury process and deprived him of his constitutional right to due process.
After Mr Mangione’s lawyers raised the issue again on Friday, Ms Garnett instructed Manhattan federal prosecutors to convey to Ms Bondi and other Justice Department officials that court rules prohibit any pretrial publicity that could interfere with a defendant’s right to a fair trial.
Mr Mangione’s federal indictment includes a charge of murder through use of a firearm, which carries the possibility of the death penalty. The indictment, which mirrors a criminal complaint brought after Mr Mangione’s arrest also charges him with stalking and a gun offence.
An Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family, Mr Mangione faces separate federal and state murder charges after authorities say he shot Mr Thompson, 50, outside the New York Hilton Midtown on December 4 as the executive arrived for UnitedHealthcare’s annual investor conference.
The state murder charges carry a maximum punishment of life in prison.
Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting Mr Thompson from behind. Police say the words “delay”, “deny” and “depose” were scrawled on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase commonly used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.
The killing and ensuing five-day search leading to Mr Mangione’s arrest rattled the business community, with some health insurers deleting photos of executives from their websites and switching to online shareholder meetings. At the same time, some health insurance critics have rallied around Mr Mangione as a stand-in for frustrations over coverage denials and hefty medical bills.
Prosecutors have said the two cases will proceed on parallel tracks, with the state case expected to go to trial first, but Mangione lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo said his defence team would seek to have the federal case take precedent because it involves the death penalty.
Mr Mangione was arrested on December 9 in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 370km west of New York City and taken to Manhattan by plane and helicopter.
Police said Mr Mangione had a 9mm handgun that matched the one used in the shooting and other items including a notebook in which they say he expressed hostility towards the health insurance industry and wealthy executives.
Among the entries, prosecutors said, was one from August 2024 that said “the target is insurance” because “it checks every box” and one from October that describes an intent to “wack” an insurance company chief executive. UnitedHealthcare, the largest US health insurer, has said Mr Mangione was never a client.
