Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty to charges of stalking and murder
NEW YORK CITY (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty to federal charges of stalking and murder Friday.
He's the man accused of shooting and killing United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan last December.
Federal prosecutors are pushing for the death penalty in his case.
As Mangione pleaded not guilty, not all the protesters outside voiced support for the Ivy League educated murder suspect.
One counter protester said the government should put him to death adding, "So I'm praying that he gets the death penalty and let it be known to the other criminals thinking about it."
But Mangione's defense says the decision to make this a capital case was political.
Defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo said she plans to challenge the death penalty decision on constitutional grounds.
"I don't condone him killing anybody if he did. But I understand," said Nadine Seiler, a Mangione supporter.
Mangione is facing two murder cases at once, federal and state charges, both for the caught on camera assassination of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Prosecutors say they have more than a terabyte of evidence, including video and cell phone tower records, that prove Mangione pulled the trigger.
Despite that, some of his courthouse supporters continued to call for his release.
Other demonstrators using the high profile case to air grievance after grievance against the healthcare system.
"We can't just, like, stop and say, like, let's punish people who do bad things. Like, why do we stop the bad things from happening in the first place? And in Luigi case, that bad thing was our healthcare system," said the counter protester.
When asked if Mangione was a hero, Morgan Moore, a healthcare reform advocate, "I decline to consider that a question up for debate. He's accused of a crime. We'll see how his court case plays out."
The next hearing date in mangione's federal case is scheduled for December 5, at which a trial date will be determined.
Defense attorneys have asked for mangione's federal case to go to trial first due to it carrying the possibility of a death sentence.
