(NewsNation) — A judge denied bail for Luigi Mangione, the man accused of shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, as he and his attorneys contested efforts to extradite him to New York from Pennsylvania.
Mangione is facing a second-degree murder charge in New York in connection with the shooting. The state of Pennsylvania is pursuing a governor’s warrant to transfer him and has 30 days to do so.
Blair County, Pennsylvania, District Attorney Peter Weeks said both Pennsylvania and New York’s governors feel confident they can obtain the warrant before the deadline.
Mangione will remain in the State Correctional Institution Huntingdon until a governor’s warrant is secured.
As he was escorted into a Pennsylvania courthouse, Mangione shouted to reporters gathered outside about injustice in the system.
“It’s completely an injustice and an insult to the American people,” he said.
Alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter’s lawyer speaks
Mangione’s lawyer, Pennsylvania defense attorney Thomas Dickey, addressed the public Tuesday afternoon.
“The only charges we’ve seen thus far have been the charges here in Pennsylvania, and we have plead[ed] not guilty to those charges,” Dickey said, adding that he’s not aware of “any actual charges” in New York.
Dickey said that, when he does see charges from New York, his “expectation” is for Mangione to plead not guilty, saying, “That certainly would be my advice.”
“I haven’t seen any evidence that says he is the shooter,” he added.
Dickey also pointed to Pennsylvania law that classifies most crimes — except for capital punishment cases, which Mangione’s is not — as bailable offenses.
“I believe that bail should’ve been set,” he said, explaining that while bail could’ve been an unrealistic number in the millions, it still should’ve been set.
Dickey refused to discuss Mangione’s state of mind, their conversation or previous extradition protests, telling reporters that he and his client will “take one step at a time.”
“I think we’ve made a strong bond, and I’m looking forward to, moving forward, helping him out,” Dickey said.
Dickey, who took on the case Tuesday, refused to clarify who hired him.
Luigi Mangione’s alleged manifesto
Alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter Luigi Mangione’s manifesto will be used as evidence, an NYPD source told NewsNation.
The document has been described as two to three pages long and talks about the insurance industry. Quotes include, “Frankly, these parasites had it coming” and “I do apologize for any strife or traumas but it had to be done.”
The document also states he was not working with anyone else.
“To the Feds, I’ll keep this short, because I do respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone,” it reads.
Mangione, 26, was arrested on Monday in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after being spotted at a McDonald’s on firearms charges related to a ghost gun he allegedly had on him when arrested.
The NYPD told NewsNation they have not finished interviewing Mangione about the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, but believe the gun found on him when he was arrested is the gun used in the murder.
Who is Luigi Mangione?
Mangione had no prior criminal record.
A spokesperson with the University of Pennsylvania confirmed that Mangione attended and graduated with both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering.
NewsNation’s local affiliate, WPIX, confirmed that Mangione was employed as the head counselor for the Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies program in 2019.
The Mangione family issued a statement following his arrest.
“Unfortunately, we cannot comment on news reports regarding Luigi Mangione. We only know what we have read in the media. Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest,” the statement said. “We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved. We are devastated by this news.”
How did police find Luigi Mangione?
The NYPD said investigators spent hours pouring over surveillance footage and looking for evidence following the shooting.
Mangione was initially identified as a person of interest and police released multiple surveillance photos that were shared across the country.
At a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania, a customer spotted Mangione based on the photographs and alerted an employee who called 911.
UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting
Thompson was killed while walking to the company’s annual investor meeting. Police say they believe the attack was targeted and not a random act of violence.
The words “deny,” “depose” and “defend” were written on the shell casings found at the scene of the shooting, police sources said to NewsNation local affiliate WPIX.
The words appear to be a possible reference to a book titled “Delay, Deny, Defend,” which details the ways insurance companies use to reject requests for medical coverage deemed necessary by doctors.
UnitedHealthcare has the highest claim denial rate among insurance companies, rejecting 32% of submitted claims compared to the industry average of 16%.
Thompson, 50, was a father of two. He became CEO of UnitedHealthcare in 2021 and helped the company bring in $281 billion in profits in 2023. Between salary and other benefits, he was estimated to have more than $10 million in compensation last year.
Earlier this year, Thompson was sued by the Hollywood Firefighters’ Pension Fund for insider trading and fraud. Executives at United Healthcare were being investigated by the Department of Justice over allegedly running a monopoly and unfairly blocking out competitors.
The Department of Justice also launched an antitrust investigation into the UnitedHealthcare Group following a cyberattack on a subsidiary that handled health care payments. During the attack, many patients were forced to pay out of pocket for care and medications or were unable to get them because medical facilities were unable to process payments.