The Daily Populous Thursday December 19th, 2024 day edition
Authored by nbcnews.com and submitted by nudelicous

Federal prosecutors are looking into whether to charge Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of United Healthcare’s CEO, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News on Wednesday.

If federal charges are filed, the New York state murder case against Mangione would have priority, the sources said.

Mangione, 26, was indicted Tuesday on first-degree murder and other charges in the targeted killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who authorities said was shot from behind as he walked on a Manhattan sidewalk on Dec. 4.

New York police said Mangione targeted Thompson, possibly because of the size of the private health insurance company he led. United Healthcare is the largest private health insurer in the United States.

Mangione was indicted on a charge of first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism, in addition to counts of second-degree murder and other counts.

In New York, a first-degree murder charge needs a special circumstance beyond intent, like the killing of a witness, being a murder for hire, the killing of a police officer or the killing of someone in furtherance of terrorism.

Karen Friedman Agnifilo, one of the attorneys representing Mangione on the New York charges, said Wednesday night that they “are ready to fight these charges in whatever court they are brought.”

“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,” she said.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Tuesday that the ambush killing of Thompson was "intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation."

Mangione, wearing a hooded a jacket and a mask, waited for nearly an hour near a hotel for Thompson to arrive and then shot him from behind with a 9 mm handgun equipped with a suppressor at around 6:45 a.m., Bragg said.

Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 9 after he was recognized from security photos New York police and the FBI distributed.

He is being held in Pennsylvania and has contested extradition to New York. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, the federal prosecutor's office in Manhattan, declined to comment.

Representatives of the FBI and the New York Police Department also declined to comment.

If he is convicted of either first-degree murder or second-degree murder as an act of terrorism, Mangione could face up to life in prison without parole, Bragg said. If he is convicted of a normal charge of second-degree murder, the maximum sentence is 25 years to life, Bragg said.

Qubeye on December 19th, 2024 at 05:08 UTC »

The guy in Texas who committed premeditated murder at a political rally didn't get terrorism charges despite specifically going to a rally to murder people to create political fear.

You know, the explicit definition of terrorism.

And he got a pardon and no federal charges.

The ruling class is telling us who matters.

townandthecity on December 19th, 2024 at 04:29 UTC »

They are telling us who matters. They're telling us to be careful or we're next. It's remarkable to me how this one act has shaken the ruling class to its very foundations. They know it's a powder keg and they're taking a targeted murder and turning it into something as grave as a presidential assassination attempt.

Americans should be enraged that the murder of this CEO--who was under investigation for insider trading in addition to everything else--is being handled this way when mass murders of innocent Americans are waved away. This should be the only messaging. And Mangione should have the best lawyers in the world at his side, because this is a test case.

Xinlitik on December 19th, 2024 at 04:05 UTC »

Today we learned that shooting up a school isnt a federal crime, while killing one CEO apparently is.

Welcome to America!