Luigi Mangione Terrorism Charges Dropped, Murder Charges Upheld

Luigi Mangione appeared in New York state court in Manhattan on Tuesday, as part of a pretrial court hearing for charges brought against him in the Dec. 4, 2024, murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione, who has pleaded not guilty to all state and federal charges against him, had his last state court appearance in February.

During the hearing, Mangione’s terrorism charges were dismissed, with Judge Carro ruling the evidence as “legally insufficient.” Mangione will still face second-degree murder charges. And though his lawyers, led by Karen Friedman Agnifilo, wanted to have the state indictment entirely dismissed because of the simultaneous federal case against him, Carro ruled that any claim of double jeopardy is too premature.

Mangione’s motion to delay the state case was also denied. A trial will begin on Dec. 1.

In previous filings, Friedman Agnifilo argued that the multiple legal cases violate the double jeopardy clause. If the state case is not thrown out, she has asked Judge Gregory Carro to dismiss terrorism charges against Mangione and suppress evidence obtained during his arrest at an Altoona, Pennsylvania, McDonald’s on Dec. 9. His legal team claims the arrest violated his constitutional rights in an illegal search and seizure.

In turn, the prosecution, led by Joel Seidemann, has asked the judge to force Mangione’s team to reveal whether they will be providing psychiatric evidence of any “mental disease or defect” he may have in pursuit of an insanity defense.

Inside the courtroom on Tuesday, Mangione arrived in tan prison garb, shackled. More than two dozen members of the public entered the courtroom to observe the hearing; most were women, with a handful of them wearing green (the color has become a symbol of support for Mangione).

Mangione, 27, faces multiple charges in federal court, as well as New York state and Pennsylvania state courts. One of the charges in federal court makes him eligible for the death penalty, and because of this, his legal team is fighting to get his federal trial pulled ahead of his New York state trial date.

During Mangione’s federal court appearance in April, Friedman Agnifilo revealed New York State prosecutors had told her they’d “inadvertently” listened to calls between Mangione and his legal team. Friedman Agnifilo also filed paperwork claiming that the state prosecution violated Mangione’s rights under HIPAA by obtaining access to confidential, privileged information from his health insurance provider.

Additionally, Friedman Agnifilo criticized New York State prosecutors for publishing in filings excerpts from a notebook they say Mangione used as a journal to plan Thompson’s murder. The notebook was allegedly found on Mangione when he was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, five days after the shooting. In the filing with the notebook excerpts, state prosecutors argue that the terrorism charges against Mangione are appropriate because they claim his intent was to “violently broadcast a social and political message to the public at large.” 

Federal prosecutors have also filed legal motions claiming Mangione “poses a continuing danger” because he has “sought to influence others.” A footnote in these filing links to a conservative website, which claims Shane Tamura, who opened fire in the NFL’s Manhattan office, was following in the footsteps of Mangione. Mangione’s legal team responded on Sept. 5 saying Mangione “condemns these very acts of violence that the Government is attempting to attribute as being inspired by him.”

A Pennsylvania court has requested he appear in person for firearms-related charges on Nov. 7, although Mangione is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. His next federal court date is in December in Manhattan. Neither of the three trials is expected to take place until at least 2026.