Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old charged with shooting of United Healthcare CEO Bryan Thompson, will fight his extradition to New York and is expected to plead not guilty to charges against him there, his lawyer told reporters on Tuesday.
Mangione was charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police in Pennsylvania late on Monday after being recognised in a McDonalds.
The Ivy League graduate will plead not guilty to the charges against him in Pennsylvania and will fight his extradition to New York, his lawyer Tom Dickey said. The decision to contest his extradition could delay the process by days or months, as noted by the New York TImes.
Dickey added he expects Mangione to also plead not guilty to a murder charge in New York, where Thompson died after he was shot outside a hotel.
“You can’t rush to judgment in this case or any case,” Dickey said. “He’s presumed innocent. Let’s not forget that”.
In his first public appearance since he was charged, Mangione resisted authorities, shouting unintelligibly and writhing in the grip of sheriff’s deputies as he was led into court.
As he emerged from the police car Mangione shouted an “insult to the intelligence of the American people” as he was pushed inside a courthouse. It is unclear what Mangione was referring to.
During his intial hearing, Mangione mostly stared straight ahead, occasionally looking at papers, rocking in his chair or looking back at the gallery.
‘Shocked’
At the time of his arrest, Mangione was carrying a handwritten document expressing anger with what he called “parasitic” health insurance companies. He argued the US has the most expensive healthcare system in the world and that companies have seen their profits rise as life expectancy in the US has not.
Friends of Mangione have said that he suffered from dehabilitating backpain, and went off the radar for several months prior to the murder after undergoing back surgery, fuelling speculation he could have been motivated by a hatred of health insurance companies.
Mangione, reportedly lived a charmed life as the grandson of a wealthy real estate developer, valedictorian of his elite Baltimore prep school and with degrees from one of the nation’s top private universities.
“Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest,” Mangione’s family said in a statement posted on social media late Monday.
“We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved” they added.
Mangione was recognised in a McDonalds in Pennsylvania after a nation-wide search for Thompson’s killer. Police found him in possession of a so-called “ghost gun” and the same fake ID the suspected shooter used to check into a hostel in New York near the crime.
The killing has sparked a widespread discussion about corporate greed and unfairness in the US’ medical insurance industry with some even celebrating Mangione instead of condeming the murder.
On Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said “violence to combat any sort of corporate greed is unacceptable” adding that the Biden administration condemned the violence.
The governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, said she was “deeply grateful to the men and women of law enforcement whose efforts to solve the horrific murder of Brian Thompson led to the arrest of a suspect in Pennsylvania”.
She added she would issue an arrest warrant for Mangione so he could stand trial in New York.
