Luigi Nicholas Mangione, the 26-year-old accused of fatally shooting United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in a Midtown Manhattan attack last week, has signalled he will fight being extradited to New York to face murder charges.
Mangione appeared in court in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, a day after he was arrested in the town of Altoona following a tip from a McDonald’s employee. He was charged with Thompson’s New York killing hours after his arrest, as well as a slate of lesser offences in Pennsylvania.
Emerging from a police car, Mangione gave a partly unintelligible message to reporters, although he made reference to an “insult to the intelligence of the American people”.
At the brief hearing, his defence lawyer, Thomas Dickey, told the court that Mangione would contest extradition to New York, requesting a hearing on the issue. He has 14 days to lodge a formal challenge to being relocated to New York, and in the meantime, he will be held in Pennsylvania without bail.
While in court, Mangione wore an orange prison jumpsuit, alternating between staring forward, looking at papers and looking back at the gallery. He was quieted at one point by his lawyer when he attempted to speak.
The court appearance came six days after a gunman fatally shot Thompson, the head of one of the largest health insurance companies in the United States, outside of a hotel in Midtown Manhattan.
The brazen nature of the attack – and the days-long manhunt – garnered national intrigue. Even while condemning the violence, many experts, doctors and US citizens said it was emblematic of the undercurrent of anger in the country towards the healthcare industry, where high costs leave many patients vulnerable to the will of insurers.
Bullet casings found at the scene of the killing bore the words “deny”, “defend” and “depose”, appearing to reference a phrase used by critics to describe how health insurers avoid claim payouts. The gunman fled via electric bike to Central Park, and later, he boarded a bus out of the city.
In the days since the attack, many have taken to social media to share accounts of insurance companies denying claims. The sentiment has led authorities to gird for copycat attacks, according to a law enforcement memo obtained by US media.
The White House has also weighed in.
“Obviously, this is horrific,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Tuesday. “Violence to combat any sort of corporate greed is unacceptable.”
Further details emerge
The law enforcement memo, which was based on Mangione’s writings, some of which were recovered at the time of his arrest, said that Mangione was likely motivated by what he described as “parasitic” health insurance companies and an overall disdain for corporate greed.
Authorities have said a 3D-printed gun, a suppressor and several fake IDs, including one believed to be used by the attacker to check into a hostel in New York before the shooting, were recovered when Mangione was arrested.
According to the memo, Mangione had written that the US has the most expensive healthcare system in the world and that profits of major corporations continue to rise while “our life expectancy” does not.
The document added that Mangione may have been inspired by the so-called “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski, who he called a “political revolutionary”. Kaczynski had carried out a series of bombings from the late 1970s to mid 1990s railing against modern society, technology and the destruction of the environment. His attacks killed three.
The profile that has emerged since Mangione’s arrest also bears some similarities to Kaczynski, who was considered a maths prodigy.
Mangione comes from an influential family in Baltimore, Maryland, and was the valedictorian at an elite Baltimore prep school. He went on to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science in 2020 from the University of Pennsylvania, a prestigious Ivy League school.
Known as affable and intelligent, some friends have said in interviews with US media that Mangione’s demeanour changed after recent surgery on his spine.
“Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest,” Mangione’s family said in a statement posted on social media late Monday by his cousin, Delaware state legislator Nino Mangione.
“We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson, and we ask people to pray for all involved.”
Source
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Al Jazeera and news agencies