Luigi Mangione waived extradition in a Pennsylvania court Thursday morning, paving the way for his transfer to New York to face charges of gunning down a health insurance CEO earlier this month.
Mangione appeared Thursday morning in a Pennsylvania court on weapons and fake ID charges, followed by an extradition hearing stemming from his indictment on three murder charges in New York for the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4. Two of those murder charges carry terrorism enhancements.
Mangione, who initially indicated through his Pennsylvania attorney Thomas Dickey that he would fight extradition, changed his mind after hiring former prosecutor Karen Friedman Agnifilo to defend him in New York. Agnifilo earlier told CNN he would not fight extradition, and he is expected to be flown to New York immediately after the Thursday morning hearing.
Meanwhile, Mangione has reportedly been indicted on federal charges, The New York Times reported. Those charges are not known, since the indicted is supposedly under seal, but Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office told the Times that his charges “will proceed in parallel with any federal case.”
Friedman Agnifilo issued a statement saying that “the federal government’s reported decision to pile on top of an already overcharged first-degree murder and state terror case is highly unusual and raises serious constitutional and statutory double jeopardy concerns.”
“We are ready to fight these charges in whatever court they are brought,” she said.
The Times speculated that the federal charges could be an attempt to charge Mangione with the death penalty since capital punishment has been outlawed in New York for 20 years. Any decision on seeking the death penalty will likely be made by the Justice Department in incoming President Donald Trump’s administration.
The murder of Thompson, chief executive of the country’s largest health insurer, has sparked fear among the executives of large companies, particularly in the health insurance industry, where average Americans struggle with the highest per capita rate of spending in the world, according to Statista. Wealthy executives and shareholders of such companies have increased security, especially in the wake of rising donations made to Mangione’s defense fund by Americans angry at the companies’ seeming prioritization of profits over healthcare.
Mangione’s 262-word “manifesto,” found with him at his arrest in Pennsylvania, indicated his anger about UnitedHealthcare in particular, although authorities say he does not appear to have been a client of that company.
