A Manhattan judge on Tuesday dismissed the most serious charges against the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, tossing out two terrorism-related murder counts but leaving a raft of other allegations intact as the high-profile case moves forward.
Luigi Mangione, 27, appeared in a Manhattan courtroom for the first time in five months, wearing shackles and beige jail-issued clothing over a brown T-shirt. He remained silent during the brief proceeding, where Judge Gregory Carro ruled that prosecutors had failed to prove their most sweeping theory: that Thompson’s death amounted to an act of terrorism.
Carro said the evidence presented to a grand jury was “legally insufficient” to sustain terrorism charges, including first-degree murder.
“While the defendant was clearly expressing an animus toward UHC, and the health care industry generally, it does not follow that his goal was to ‘intimidate and coerce a civilian population,’” Carro wrote in his decision. “There was no evidence presented of such a goal.”
Prosecutors had argued Mangione’s actions created fear among UnitedHealthcare employees, but the judge rejected the claim that those fears amounted to terrorism under state law.
Despite the ruling, Mangione still faces a second-degree murder charge, to which he has pleaded not guilty. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said it would “proceed on the remaining nine counts,” which include multiple weapons charges and one count of possessing a forged instrument.
Mangione is accused of ambushing Thompson with a 9mm handgun fitted with a silencer outside the New York Hilton Midtown on Dec. 4, 2024. The attack, which stunned both Wall Street and the health care industry, set off a nationwide manhunt.
Authorities captured Mangione days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Police said he was carrying a backpack that contained the alleged murder weapon, a fake identification card, and a red notebook that appeared to serve as a diary.
In one entry, prosecutors said, Mangione wrote: “I finally feel confident about what I will do. The target is insurance. It checks every box.”
His defense team has argued the backpack was searched illegally because officers did not have a warrant.
The New York prosecution is only one piece of a sprawling legal battle. In April, a federal grand jury indicted Mangione on stalking, weapons offenses, and murder through the use of a firearm – a charge that makes him eligible for the death penalty.
He has also pleaded not guilty to separate state charges in Pennsylvania, where prosecutors say he committed forgery and gave a false ID to police. He is scheduled to appear in a Blair County courtroom on Nov. 7 for a pretrial hearing.
Mangione’s attorneys have described the overlapping prosecutions as an “untenable situation” and have asked Carro to dismiss the New York case or at least put it on hold while federal proceedings advance.
Carro also sided with the defense on another issue Tuesday, ruling that prosecutors cannot use materials they subpoenaed from Mangione’s health insurer, Aetna. The judge stopped short of deciding whether Mangione’s health privacy rights were violated but said the records could not be used at trial.
Mangione’s next hearing in Manhattan is set for Dec. 1. Meanwhile, the case continues to draw attention not only for its legal complexity but also for the questions it raises about the motives behind Thompson’s killing.
Three rows of Mangione’s supporters were present in the courtroom Tuesday, underscoring the public fascination – and divisions – surrounding a case that straddles both the justice system and broader debates about the health care industry.
