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The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO struggled with deputies and shouted Tuesday while arriving for a court appearance in Pennsylvania, a day after he was arrested at a McDonald’s and charged with murder.
Luigi Nicholas Mangione emerged from a patrol car, spun toward reporters and shouted something partly unintelligible referring to an “insult to the intelligence of the American people” while deputies pushed him inside.
Prosecutors were beginning to take steps to bring Mangione back to New York to face a murder charge while new details emerged about his life and how he was captured. The 26-year-old Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family was charged with murder hours after he was arrested in the Manhattan killing of Brian Thompson, who led the United States’ largest medical insurance company.
At the brief hearing, defense lawyer Thomas Dickey informed the court that Mangione would not waive extradition to New York but instead wants a hearing on the issue. He has 14 days to challenge detention.
Mangione, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, mostly stared straight ahead at the hearing, occasionally consulting papers, rocking in his chair or looking back at the gallery. At one point, he began to speak to respond to the court discussion but was quieted by his lawyer.
Mangione likely was motivated by his anger with what he called “parasitic” health insurance companies and a disdain for corporate greed, a law enforcement bulletin obtained by The Associated Press said.
He wrote that the U.S. has the most expensive health care system in the world and that profits of major corporations continue to rise while “our life expectancy” does not, according to the bulletin, based on a review of his hand-written notes and social media posts.
Mangione called “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski a “political revolutionary” and may have found inspiration from the man who carried out a series of bombings while railing against modern society and technology, according to police bulletin.
Mangione remained jailed in Pennsylvania, where he was initially charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police.
