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A New York judge has tossed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s terrorism charges against suspected UnitedHealthcare CEO assassin Luigi Mangione.
The suspected killer appeared court Tuesday morning shortly after the NYPD warned that business leaders and political figures may be at an increased risk less than a week after a sniper shot and killed Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk during a public event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
Mangione faces a slew of state and federal charges after police allege he stalked and ambushed Brian Thompson, the health insurer’s chief executive and a married father of two from Minnesota who was visiting New York City for an investor conference.
“There was no evidence presented of a desire to terrorize the public, inspire widespread fear, engage in a broader campaign of violence, or to conspire with organized terrorist groups,” Judge Gregory Carro found in a 12-page written decision. “Here, the crime – the heinous, but targeted and discrete killing of one person — is very different from the examples of terrorism set forth in the statute.”
CHARLIE KIRK WARNED OF LEFT-WING ‘ASSASSINATION CULTURE’ MONTHS BEFORE HIS MURDER
The judge declined to rule on other pending motions, including whether Mangione is facing double jeopardy or on the legality of a controversial subpoena to his health insurance provider, Aetna. He’s due back in court on Dec. 1.
The reduced charge means Mangione no longer faces a maximum punishment of life imprisonment without parole if convicted. He would face life with the possibility of parole.
There are concerns that Mangione’s alleged actions have inspired copycats. He allegedly wrote messages on shell casings found at the scene. The suspected Kirk assassin also allegedly etched memes and anti-fascist rhetoric onto cartridges found in the alleged murder weapon.
Kirk had warned of a rise in “assassination culture” before his murder, which came as he was discussing politicized mass shootings with someone in the audience last Wednesday. Researchers are now also echoing his concern.
Read Judge Carro’s decision:
The NYPD’s Counterterrorism and Intelligence Bureau is reportedly warning businesses, political groups and other public figures that the risk of more assassinations remains elevated, ABC News reported Tuesday, citing an internal threat assessment.
“These individuals likely remain vulnerable at open-air speaking engagements and public events, which have been targeted by malicious actors seeking to advance political or ideological agendas and/or draw attention to unique personal grievances through violence,” the assessment reads, as quoted by the outlet.
LUIGI MANGIONE DEFENSE SHARED SAME RECORDS THEY CLAIMED CONSTITUTED PRIVACY VIOLATION: PROSECUTORS
Around Manhattan, increased security measures were visible Tuesday. At the Blackstone building, where a gunman burst in and killed four people in July, more than a dozen security guards were seen outside the front door.
Mangione, an Ivy League-educated scion of a wealthy Maryland family, has pleaded not guilty to nine state-level charges in New York, including murder as an act of terrorism.
He faces stalking and other charges at the federal level as well as firearms and forgery charges in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested.
Despite the allegations against him, he has received an alarming amount of support online, and supporters have been seen rallying outside his court appearances dressed up like the character Luigi from “Super Mario Bros.”
They carried anti-fascist signs as well as signs call for him to be freed and for “jury nullification.” Supporters cheered outside when they heard news of the judge’s decision to drop the terror charge.
At an earlier hearing, court officers seized a note addressed to him written on heart-shaped paper, smuggled into the building in a pair of socks sent with civilian clothes he had been allowed to wear instead of a jailhouse jumpsuit.
His attorneys arrived at Manhattan’s criminal courthouse a few minutes before his 9 a.m. hearing.
Thompson, 50, spent 20 years working for UnitedHealth Group and became CEO of the UnitedHealthcare subsidiary in April 2021, according to his online bio. He had two children.
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