An agitated Luigi Mangione yelled at reporters outside a Pennsylvania courthouse before a hearing on his possible extradition to New York to face a murder charge in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
“It’s completely out of touch and is an insult to the intelligence of the American people and their lived experience!” Mangione shouted as he was led in shackles from a police car into the Blair County Court in Hollidaysburg.
Luigi Mangione, 26, a suspect in the New York City killing of UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson, arrives for an extradition hearing at Blair County Court House in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. December 10, 2024.
Matthew Hatcher | Reuters
The 26-year-old was forced into the building by two officers as he struggled against their hold on him while yelling at television cameras. Before he was hustled inside, his chest bounced off the wall of the building.
At the hearing, Mangione said he would challenge extradition to New York.
The University of Pennsylvania graduate is accused by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office of fatally shooting Thompson with a pistol on Wednesday morning outside the Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan.
The CEO had been headed to an investor meeting for his parent company, UnitedHealth Group.
A judge gave prosecutors 30 days to obtain documents needed for Mangione’s extradition. The judge denied bail for Mangione, who will be sent back to a Pennsylvania prison pending the outcome of the extradition process.
At one point during the hearing, Mangione’s defense lawyer Thomas Dickey told him to keep quiet when he began speaking as Dickey addressed the judge.
After the hearing, Blair County District Attorney Peter Weeks told reporters that his office had “already indicated” to prosecutors in New York “that we believe their charges take precedent.”
“That doesn’t mean we’re getting rid of our charges,” Week said, referring to the criminal charges lodged against Mangione on Monday by his office.
A spokesperson for Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg said in a statement that Bragg will seek a Governor’s warrant to secure extradition to Manhattan.”
Mangione was arrested Monday morning at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after police there recognized him as the person of interest being sought by the New York Police Department.
He is being held in Pennsylvania on charges related to his possession of a 3-D printed handgun and silencer that Altoona officers found in his backpack, as well as fake identification documents
New York police have said the gun is consistent with the weapon used to kill Thompson.
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