Luigi Mangione has been charged with murder as an act of terrorism for the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Mangione, 26, has already been charged with murder for the December 4 slaying, but the indictment could help move along procedural steps toward extraditing the suspect.
Under New York law, such a charge can be brought when an alleged crime is ‘intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policies of a unit of government by intimidation or coercion and affect the conduct of a unit of government by murder, assassination or kidnapping.’
Thompson, 50, was shot dead as he walked to a Manhattan hotel where Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare – the United States’ biggest medical insurer – was holding an investor conference.
‘This was a frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation,’ Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Tuesday.
‘It occurred in one of the most bustling parts of our city, threatened the safety of local residents and tourists alike, commuters and businesspeople just starting out on their day.’
Mangione has two court hearings scheduled for Thursday in Pennsylvania, including an extradition hearing, Bragg noted.
Hours after his arrest in Pennsylvania last week, the Manhattan district attorney´s office filed paperwork charging him with murder and other offenses. The indictment builds on that paperwork.
Luigi Mangione has been charged with murder as an act of terrorism for the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
Investigators´ working theory is that Mangione, an Ivy League computer science grad from a prominent Maryland family, was propelled by anger at the U.S. health care system.
A law enforcement bulletin obtained by The Associated Press week said that when arrested, he was carrying a handwritten letter that called health insurance companies ‘parasitic’ and complained about corporate greed.
On Wednesday, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said police have matched a gun found on Mangione with the shell casings recovered at the scene and his fingerprints with a water bottle and energy bar wrapper found nearby.
Other evidence includes handwritten documents found in his possession casting his alleged crime as a legitimate response to what he viewed as corporate greed, some media outlets have reported.
Mangione lashed out himself on Tuesday as he was led into a courthouse, shouting in part, ‘…completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people!’
The former Ivy League student had been apprehended with a 3D-printed pistol and black silencer, as well as a manifesto condemning the American healthcare system.
Mangione also had a spiral notebook in which he wrote a ‘to-do list,’ ahead of the grizzly shooting, CNN reported.
In it, he allegedly toyed with the idea of using a bomb to kill Thompson – but he decided against the prospect because it ‘could kill innocents,’ and determined a shooting would be more targeted.
He also reportedly mused that it couldn’t get any better than ‘to kill the CEO at his own bean-counting conference,’ as Thompson was set to disclose the financial gains the company made this year.
