Luigi Mangione, the 27-year-old suspected killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, waived extradition Thursday as he appeared at a Blair County, Pennsylvania, court for a preliminary hearing on his state charges. Waiving extradition means Luigi Mangione did not challenge his extradition to New York City where he allegedly killed the CEO. He was arrested in Pennsylvania and could challenge the extradition had he wanted to face the charges in Pennsylvania. Now he will be transported to New York and will face charges of first and second-degree murder. In Pennsylvania, Mangione was not charged with murder.
As Mangione appeared in the court, around 100 supporters gathered outside with signs reading “free Luigi”, “Health Insurance Practices Terrorize People”, “Murder for Profit is Terrorism” etc.
Mangione, who did not admit to having killed Brian Thompson, replied with ‘yes’ and ‘no’ during the hearing. He said “yes” when his local attorney Thomas Dickey asked if he wanted to waive his extradition.
Now Luigi Mangione will not face the firearm and forgery charges brought against him in Pennsylvania until the charges against him in New York are resolved, Blair County District Attorney Pete Weeks said following Thursday’s court hearings.
What will happen to Luigi Mangione now?
Later today, Luigi Mangione will be sent to Manhattan where he faces an 11-count indictment levied against him by state prosecutors in the December 4 fatal shooting on Thompson outside the Hilton in Midtown. He will appear before Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said that Mangione was indicted on the upgraded charges because the Dec. 4 crime — in which Thompson was gunned down outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown — was “intended to provoke terror.”
The Federal charges against Mangione are expected to be unsealed today. They include stalking murder and using a silencer in a crime of violence CNN reported. “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,” Mangione’s defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo said in a statement Tuesday night. “We are ready to fight these charges in whatever court they are brought.”