Luigi Mangione extradited to New York to face terrorism, murder charges

Luigi Nicholas Mangione leaves the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 19, 2024. Mangione, 26, is accused of shooting UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street on Dec. 4, triggering a nationwide manhunt that ended last week when he was spotted at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s. The former data engineer remains jailed in that state as he fights efforts to extradite him to New York to face charges there over the killing. (Adam Gray/AFP via Getty Images/TNS)

Mangione, a 26-year-old Maryland native, only replied to questions from the judge and simply replied “yes,” when asked whether he understood his rights and the extradition process.

More than a dozen representatives from the New York Police Department sat in the front row of the packed court room that was filled with mostly media.

There appeared to be some Mangione supporters present because one woman appeared to be crying at one point during the hearing.

There were a handful of protestors outside the courthouse carrying signs that criticized health insurance companies and called for universal health care. Others held signs that said “Free Luigi” and “Murder for Profit is Terrorism.”

“We relinquished him to the custody of the New York City Police Department, and they’ll be taking him back to New York City in a safe and secure manner,” Blair County District Attorney Peter Weeks told reporters after the hearing.

Mangione, who grew up in the suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland as part of a sprawling, wealthy, dynastic family, graduated in 2016 as the elite private Gilman School’s valedictorian

He is accused of carefully planning Thompson’s murder — traveling to New York to find him, carrying a gun with a silencer to carry out the killing, and developing a document that chronicles his disdain for the insurance industry, which law enforcement said they found on him at the time of his arrest.

The court confirmed that Mangione would not be returning to the Pennsylvania prison where he has been held since being arrested at a nearby McDonald’s on Dec. 9.

He also will not face gun and forgery charges in the state until the case in New York is resolved, Weeks confirmed.

Mangione was indicted Tuesday by a New York grand jury and charged with an act of terrorism for the Dec. 4 murder of Thompson.

Towson-native Mangione had previously faced five charges in New York, the most serious of which was second-degree murder. The indictment ramps up the stakes to include murder in the first degree in furtherance of terrorism, along with two counts of second-degree murder and multiple weapons charges.

Mangione heads to New York after hearing
During Thursday’s court appearance, Mangione huddled with his defense attorney, Tom Dickey, throughout the proceeding at Blair County Courthouse. Dickey occasionally put his hand on the back of Mangione’s chair as he discussed the hearing.

Dickey confirmed with the court that Mangione’s legal counsel in New York and was confident that an extradition waiver won’t jeopardize his defense. Mangione has hired former Manhattan Chief Assistant District Attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo to represent him in New York.

“We are in a position to provide a smooth transition without disruption to my client’s representation,” Dickey told the court about agreeing to waive extradition.

Following the roughly 90-minute hearing, Mangione, wearing an orange jump suit, was driven from the courthouse in a black SUV and was headed to New York by plane. He did not say anything to a handful of reporters in the alley of the courthouse

Now, Mangione could be jailed at Rikers Island in the Bronx as he awaits his trial in New York.

In addition, Mangione could face federal charges for the death of Thompson, was shot and killed as he walked to a Manhattan hotel where Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare was holding an investor conference.