Luigi Mangione’s lawyers seek dismissal of federal charges in UnitedHealthcare CEO’s assassination

NEW YORK (AP) — Lawyers for Luigi Mangione asked a federal judge in New York on Saturday to dismiss some criminal charges, including the only count for which he faces the death penalty, from a federal indictment against him in the December killing. CEO of UnitedHealthcare.

In papers filed in Manhattan federal court, the lawyers said prosecutors should also be barred from using at trial his statements to law enforcement officers and his backpack where a gun and ammunition were found.

They said Mangione was not read his rights before being questioned by law enforcement, who arrested him after Brian Thompson was fatally shot as he arrived at a Manhattan hotel for an investors conference.

They said officers did not obtain a warrant before searching Mangione’s backpack.

Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges in the Dec. 4 fatal shooting of Brian Thompson as he arrived at a Manhattan hotel for his company’s annual investor conference.

The killing sparked a multistate search after the suspected shooter walked away from the scene and rode his bicycle to Central Park, before taking a taxi to a bus depot that serves several neighboring states.

Five days latera tip from a McDonald’s about 230 miles away in Altoona, Pennsylvania, led police to arrest Mangione. He has been held without bail ever since.

In their submissions, defense attorneys provided a minute-by-minute description of how officers apprehended a cooperative Mangione, including a photograph taken by a police body-worn camera of the suspect initially seated alone at a table with a white mask covering almost his entire face.

They said Mangione was first approached by two “fully armed” police officers when one of them “told Mr. Mangione that someone had called the police because they thought he was suspicious” after he had been there for about 40 minutes.

When officers asked to see his identification, Mangione handed over a New Jersey driver’s license with someone else’s name on it, according to the filing.

As Mangione prepared to eat, the officers asked him to stand with his hands on his head so they could search him, the attorneys wrote.

Shortly afterward, one of the officers went outside to summon other officers, telling a colleague that he was “100 percent convinced” that Mangione was the suspect they were looking for, the attorneys said. Within minutes, nearly half a dozen additional officers arrived.

Last month, lawyers for Mangione has called for his federal charges to be dropped and the death penalty to be taken off the table following public comments from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. In April, Bondi ordered New York prosecutors to seek the death penalty, calling Thompson’s killing a “premeditated, cold-blooded murder that shocked America.”

Murder cases are typically tried in state courts, but prosecutors also charged Mangione under a federal law for gun killings committed in connection with other “crimes of violence.” This is the only charge for which Mangione could face the death penalty, since it is not used in New York state.

Documents filed early Saturday morning argue that charge should be dropped because prosecutors failed to identify other offenses that would be necessary to convict him, saying the other alleged crime — stalking — is not a crime of violence.

The assassination and its aftermath captured the American imagination, triggering a cascade of resentment and online vitriol towards American health insurers while shaken business leaders concerned about safety.

After the murder, investigators found the words “delay,” “deny,” and “drop” written in permanent marker on ammunition at the scene. The words mimic a phrase used by critics of the insurance industry.