Luigi Mangione, the man accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, appeared in court Tuesday morning in New York City, where the judge ruled to dismiss the state terrorism charges against him.
Mangione walked into Manhattan Criminal Court wearing a tan prison jumpsuit shortly before 9:30 a.m. for a hearing on several pre-trial motions. Dozens of members of the press packed the courtroom, as well as members of the public.
Mangione faces both state and federal charges in the killing of Thompson, a husband and father of two, last December outside a Manhattan hotel. The 11 state charges included murder and terrorism, and the federal ones carry the possibility of the death penalty. Mangione has pleaded not guilty.
The defense had also asked for the terrorism charges to be dropped, arguing they don't apply. Prosecutors, however, alleged Mangione's intent was to "violently broadcast a social and political message to the public at large."
The judge ruled to dismiss both terrorism charges — murder in the first degree in furtherance of an act of terrorism and murder in the second degree as a crime of terrorism — writing they were "legally insufficient."
Mangione will still face second-degree murder and weapons charges in the state case, the judge ruled.
The defense also wanted evidence from his backpack, including a gun and notebook, to be suppressed, claiming the contents were obtained without a search warrant. Prosecutors deny the allegations and asked the judge to force Mangione's lawyers to say whether they will pursue an insanity defense or introduce psychiatric evidence.
The judge did not rule on either of those issues Tuesday, but said hearings in the case will begin on Dec. 1.
Posted by SafeBodybuilder7191
23 Comments
Finally some good news
At least we still have some sane judges in this country
Big loss for federal prosecutors. And I’m really eager to see the outcome of the evidence of the illegal search from the judge, I have a feeling it’ll go against the prosecutors too.
I know he’s a meme and all, but we still don’t really have that much evidence that he actually did it lol
Good!
If he gets off on a technicality on the 2nd degree murder charges, he will become the most laid man who ever lived.
Free him immediately!
[Don’t forget you can donate to his legal fund](https://www.givesendgo.com/luigi-defense-fund)
I believe in my man’s innocence!
Maybe he didn’t do it
It’s a start! We’ll take it!
Eeeeyyyy!
I’m lowkey shocked the charges got dropped. Like it’s both shady and sus
This case was handled so badly by the police and Feds, and the media muddled the waters so much, that the whole thing might just be thrown out.
They need to let him go so he can start his runway modeling career.
Let’s hope the federal charges get dropped next.
https://preview.redd.it/m5ajvoj9djpf1.jpeg?width=1320&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a7948878233af6ff786138df0b85cf514f502178
Overcharging a defendant makes the case harder to prove.
Big win
Free this man!! we are one step closer. Jury nullification and donate to his legal defence fund:
https://www.givesendgo.com/luigi-defense-fund
not guilty
Good!
Lord above, I did not expect this in a million years. Especially given the recent climate with Kirk, I feel like the judge actually made a rather brave ruling.
Hall-fucking-lujah. God this was some good news that was needed.
Lawyer friends – how good of an argument is the evidence in the backpack without a search warrant?