Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old from Maryland who has been charged as the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Dec. 4, now faces federal charges on top of his criminal cases in New York and Pennsylvania.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan leveled charges of murder through use of a firearm, two stalking charges and a firearms offense against Mangione on Thursday afternoon. That morning, Mangione waived extradition to New York, where he was indicted on charges of murder in the furtherance of terrorism as well as several weapons offenses.

Mangione appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker in the federal Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse late Thursday afternoon and was ordered held without bail and was expected to be remanded to Rikers Island.

The Gilman alumnus wore khakis and a blue pullover instead of his orange prison jumpsuit and answered “yes” when asked if he understood he was being charged with murder through use of a firearm, two stalking charges and a firearms offense.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday that the city would be actively involved in the Mangione case, adding that people praising the suspect in Thompson’s death in Manhattan are “celebrating using violence to solve an issue” and are “vile.”

Adams was part of a large security escort that took Mangione to the courthouse to face four new federal charges.

“This act of terrorism and the violence that stems from (Mangione’s case) is something that will not be tolerated in the city. We wanted to personally be here to show the symbolism of leading from the front,” Adams told reporters.

Federal charges raise death penalty questions

The development of four federal charges for the Baltimore-native in the Thompson murder case now raises the possibility that he could face the death penalty.

While Mangione previously faced 10 charges in New York and Pennsylvania, he was not eligible to receive the death penalty if convicted for three murder charges in New York because the state has ended the practice. Federal law, however, allows for people convicted of murder to face the death penalty as a punishment.

In Pennsylvania earlier Thursday, a clean-shaven Mangione appeared calm and in good spirits as he waived extradition to New York from Pennsylvania to face charges for the shooting death of Thompson.

There were no outbursts on his way in, like during his first appearance at Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, when he yelled to reporters before entering the building.

Mangione only replied to questions from the judge and simply replied “yes,” when asked whether he understood his rights and the extradition process.

More than a dozen representatives from the New York Police Department sat in the front row of the packed Pennsylvania courtroom, which was filled mostly with media.

There appeared to be some Mangione supporters present; one woman seemed to be crying during the hearing.

There were a handful of protesters outside the courthouse carrying signs that criticized health insurance companies and called for universal health care. Others held signs that said “Free Luigi” and “Murder for Profit is Terrorism.”

“We relinquished him to the custody of the New York City Police Department, and they’ll be taking him back to New York City in a safe and secure manner,” Blair County District Attorney Peter Weeks told reporters after the hearing.

Mangione, who grew up in the suburbs of Baltimore as part of a sprawling, wealthy family, graduated in 2016 as the Gilman School’s valedictorian.

He is accused of carefully planning Thompson’s murder — traveling to New York to find him, carrying a gun with a silencer to carry out the killing, and developing a document that chronicled his disdain for the insurance industry, which law enforcement said they found on him at the time of his arrest.

Thompson was shot and killed as he walked to a Manhattan hotel where Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare was holding an investor conference.

The court confirmed that Mangione would not be returning to the Pennsylvania prison where he has been held since being arrested at a nearby McDonald’s on Dec. 9.

He also will not face gun and forgery charges in the state until the case in New York is resolved, Weeks confirmed.

Mangione was indicted Tuesday by a New York grand jury and charged with an act of terrorism in connection to the Dec. 4 murder of Thompson.

Mangione had previously faced five charges in New York, the most serious of which was second-degree murder. The indictment ramps up the stakes to include murder in the first degree in furtherance of terrorism, along with two counts of second-degree murder and multiple weapons charges.

Mangione headed to New York after hearing

During Thursday’s court appearance, Mangione huddled with his defense attorney, Tom Dickey, throughout the proceeding at Blair County Courthouse. Dickey occasionally put his hand on the back of Mangione’s chair as he discussed the hearing.

Dickey confirmed with the court that Mangione has legal counsel in New York and was confident that an extradition waiver would not jeopardize his defense. Mangione has hired former Manhattan Chief Assistant District Attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo to represent him in New York.

“We are in a position to provide a smooth transition without disruption to my client’s representation,” Dickey told the court, in agreeing to waive extradition.

Following the roughly 90-minute hearing, Mangione, wearing an orange jumpsuit, was driven from the courthouse in a black SUV, and was expected to then head to New York by plane. He did not say anything to a handful of reporters in the alley of the courthouse.

Now, Mangione could be jailed at Rikers Island in the Bronx as he awaits his trial in New York, law enforcement said. In addition, Mangione could face federal charges for the death of Thompson.

_____

(Sun reporter Raquel Bazos contributed reporting to this story.)

_____

©2024 The Baltimore Sun. Visit at baltimoresun.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.