Luigi Mangione, charged with fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in midtown Manhattan, was escorted into a New York courtroom for his arraignment on Monday where he pleaded not guilty to state murder and terrorism charges.
The hearing was Mangione’s first opportunity to address the charges raised against him by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
The 26-year-old faces 11 counts under New York law, including one charge of murder in the first degree and two of murder in the second degree, along with weapons and forgery charges, according to the indictment.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office which is prosecuting Mangione’s state case confirmed to CNN it is coordinating with federal authorities.
State prosecutors said they would do everything possible to expedite the discovery process and provide responsive information to the defense.
“I have never seen a case with such a volume of evidence, aside from the issue of the quality of the evidence,” prosecutor Joel Seidemann said during the hearing. “This is not a usual case in terms of the thousands of hours of video.”
Mangione’s defense attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, expressed concerns during the hearing about her client’s ability to obtain a fair trial, specifically citing Mayor Eric Adams’ presence last week among the dozens of heavily armed law enforcement officials as Mangione was extradited to Lower Manhattan from Pennsylvania where he was arrested on December 9.
Under New York law, if convicted, Mangione could be sentenced to life without parole.
He is also facing federal charges of stalking and murder that could lead to the death penalty.
The separate federal and state cases will proceed in parallel, but the state case is expected to go to trial first, according to federal prosecutors.
Agnifilo said at the arraignment hearing that it is difficult to defend her client in dual state and federal cases.
“He’s a young man, and he’s being treated like a human pingpong ball by two warring jurisdictions here,” she said. While he should be “afforded a right to a fair trial,” instead, she said, “They’re treating him like . . . a human spectacle.”
Mangione is remaining in pretrial detention. His next state court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 21.