Luigi Mangione has been indicted on murder charges in the slaying earlier this month of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
He has been charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder, one of which was charged as an act of terrorism, for the “brazen, targeted and premeditated shooting of Brian Thompson,” Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg said at a press conference.
The first-degree murder charge and second-degree murder/terrorism charge carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. The maximum penalty for the other second-degree murder charge is 25 years to life in prison.
Mangione, 26, also faces charges of criminal possession of a weapon and a forged instrument.
Bragg said his office is still in the process of extraditing Mangione from Pennsylvania, where he as apprehended last week, to New York, where he’s accused of killing Thompson outside a hotel in Midtown Manhattan. He’s scheduled to appear before a Pennsylvania court Thursday.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch used her time at Tuesday’s press conference to slam anyone who has celebrated Mangione’s alleged actions. He was found with a manifesto on him denouncing the U.S. health insurance system.
“We have seen a shocking and appalling celebration of cold-blooded murder,” Tisch said. “Social media has erupted with praise for this cowardly attack. People ghoulishly plastered posters threatening other CEOs with an X over Mr. Thompson’s picture, as though he was some sort of a sick trophy.”
Bragg spoke out about the proliferation of so-called ghost guns ― untraceable weapons built from parts purchased online or assembled with 3D printers ― like the one prosecutors allege Mangione used.
We Need Your Support
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
“Last year, over 80 ghost guns and ghost gun parts were recovered in Manhattan alone,” Bragg said. “The NYPD and the Manhattan DA’s office have been leading in the interdiction of these ghost guns. And one thing I want to make clear: They’re unserialized, they can be printed out, but as this case tragically makes clear, they are just as deadly as traditional firearms.”