Luigi Mangione has pleaded not guilty to a federal murder charge in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Mangione, 26, stood between his lawyers and leaned toward a tabletop microphone on Friday as he entered the plea in Manhattan federal court. He responded “yes” when U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett asked if he understood the indictment that charges him with gunning down Thompson outside a midtown hotel last December.
Asked how he wished to plead, Mangione said simply “not guilty” and sat down.
Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family, faces separate murders in federal and state court, where he faces a maximum punishment of life in prison.
Prosecutors had expected the state case go to trial first, but Mangione’s lawyers said Friday that they want the federal case to take precedent because it involves the death penalty. Because of the many legal issues involved in capital cases, Mangione’s federal case will move at a slower pace than non-death penalty prosecutions.
Mangione is next due in federal court on Dec. 5, a day after the one-year anniversary of Thompson’s death. His next appearance in the state case is set for June 26. No trial date has been set in either case.