Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old man accused of gunning down UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson in front of a New York City hotel, appeared in court Friday for the first time since he was arraigned in December on state murder and terror charges.
Mangione, who has pleaded not guilty, entered the Manhattan courtroom with shackles on his hands and feet. He wore a bulletproof vest over a green sweater, a white shirt and khaki pants.
Judge Gregory Carro denied a request to remove the shackles submitted by Mangione’s jail consultant, Craig Rothfeld.
Prosecutors started the hearing by listing the evidence they have so far sent over to Mangione’s lawyers, including body camera footage and medical examiner forensic files. Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Mangione’s lead attorney, said her team still needed more materials from prosecutors.
Agnifilo later conferred privately with Mangione before the hearing concluded. Carro did not immediately set a trial date.
No members of Mangione’s family were present for the hearing.
In the lead-up to the hearing, dozens of Mangione supporters lined up outside — some as early as 4 a.m. — hoping to get a seat inside the courtroom. At least one woman wore a scarf emblazoned with “FREE MANGIONE” in large letters. Agnifilo was cheered by a group of women when she arrived.
In a statement posted this week on a website for his legal defense, Mangione thanked his admirers, writing: “I am overwhelmed by — and grateful for — everyone who has written me to share their stories and express their support.”
“Powerfully, this support has transcended political, racial, and even class divisions,” Mangione added.
The Dec. 4 killing of Thompson outside a midtown Manhattan hotel set off a frantic five-day manhunt that drew national attention and turned Mangione into a cultural avatar. The shooting shocked local residents and provoked wider conversations about the American health care industry.
Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 9. Police said he had a gun similar to the one used in the shooting, a silencer and a fake ID.
He was also found with a three-page handwritten document that referred to the health care industry and included the phrase “these parasites simply had it coming,” law enforcement sources have told NBC News.
New York Police Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny has said Mangione’s social media and writings indicate he suffered a painful “life-altering injury” to his back.
Mangione, who is being held in a federal jail in Brooklyn, also faces federal charges that come with the possibility of the death penalty. The cases will move forward on parallel tracks, prosecutors have said, though the state charges are expected to go to trial first.
The maximum sentence for the state charges against Mangione is life in prison without parole.
At the hearing Friday, Agnifilo claimed the Justice Department has refused to allow her client to be held in state custody despite the fact that the state case is proceeding first.
She also expressed concern about how authorities obtained the gun when her client was arrested in Pennsylvania, adding that search and seizure issues would be litigated during the trial.
