The 26-year-old is accused of fatally gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty to face murder charges that could land him in prison for the rest of his life in New York state court on Monday morning, where his lawyers say any potential jury would be prejudiced by the cinematic perp walk to which he arrived in New York City.
Mangione, clad in a maroon sweater, white shirt, khaki pants, and orange shoes with his hands and feet in shackles, announced his intent to enter a not guilty plea to Judge Gregory Carro of Manhattan Supreme Court at his arraignment on state murder charges, which accuse him of committing an act of terrorism.
Mangione’s attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said she is concerned about her client’s ability to get a fair trial, after a throng of heavily-armed NYPD and FBI agents escorted the accused killer from a helicopter in a highly choreographed sequence en route to his first arraignment last week.
“I am concerned about my client’s right to a fair trial. He is being prejudiced by these statements, and no safeguards are in place,” Friedman Agnifilo told Judge Carro on Monday. “He’s a young man being treated like a human ping-pong ball.”
The attorney, who called staged perp walks “unconstitutional,” took particular aim at Mayor Eric Adams, who attended the perp walk even as he himself faces a federal indictment on bribery and fraud charges.
“It was the biggest perp walk I’ve ever seen. What was the New York City mayor even doing there? These staged perp walks are unconstitutional,” said Friedman Agnifilo. “The mayor should know about due process, given his own problems. I think he was there to try to take away from those issues. He wanted to show symbolism. But my client is not a symbol.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has accused Mangione of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in a “brazen, targeted” shooting outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4. He faces first and second-degree murder charges, as well as weapons and forgery charges.
The accused killer also faces federal murder charges that could land him the death penalty. He further faces weapons and forgery charges in Pennsylvania, where he was caught after a five-day manhunt.
He’s pled not guilty to the Pennsylvania charges, but hasn’t entered a plea to the federal raps.
Mangione is being detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, the same federal lockup housing Sean “Diddy” Combs. The two even share a lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, the husband of Karen.
Besides attorneys and reporters, Mangione was also joined in the courtroom by about two dozen members of the public, mostly young women. He is due back in court on Feb. 21.
