NEW YORK – UnitedHealthcare CEO's murder-as-a-terrorist shooting of suspect Luigi Mangione cited several factors, prosecutors said, including a “terrifying, well-planned, targeted” killing, as well as effusive praise for the suspect and palpable fear among executives reported since the shooting — but some legal experts warn that the charges may be overblown.
In an unsealed 11-count indictment Tuesday, Mangione, 26, was charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Brian Thompson on Dec. 4, along with additional weapons and document forgery charges.
At a news conference Tuesday announcing the charges, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and other top law enforcement officials said Mangione's intent in the killing was to intimidate and “incite terror.”
Bragg stressed that the brazen shooting took place “in one of the busiest parts of our city, endangering the safety of residents and tourists alike, as well as commuters and businesspeople just starting their day.”
Mangione, a former valedictorian and Ivy League graduate who came from a wealthy family, killed Thompson “in support of a terrorist attack,” the indictment says. His actions, prosecutors added, included “an act of violence and actions that were dangerous to human life” and “were intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, to influence the policy of a governmental entity through intimidation or coercion, and to influence the behavior of a person.” “Influence government unity through murder, assassination or kidnapping.”
A judge in Pennsylvania will decide the next steps in his legal case on Thursday at his next extradition hearing.
According to Bragg's office, Mangione faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.
RELATED: The defense fund set up by supporters of alleged CEO assassin Luigi Mangione tops $100,000
In the weeks since Thompson's killing, officers have witnessed a “shocking and appalling celebration of cold-blooded murder,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Tuesday at the same news conference. “Social media is erupting in praise for this cowardly attack.”
“It was a cold and calculated crime that took a life and put New Yorkers in danger,” Tisch continued. “We do not celebrate murders or glorify the killing of anyone, and any attempt to rationalize this is abhorrent, reckless and insults to our deeply held principles of justice.”
A first-degree murder charge is rare because it requires special elements of the crime.
Under New York law, first-degree murder applies only to a narrow list of aggravating circumstances, including if the victim is a judge, a police officer or a first responder, or if the killing was a contract killing or premeditated murder Committing terrorism, CNN reported.
Officials say the terrorism law is “vindicated” by threats and fears among CEOs
Rebecca Weiner, NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence The Department of Terrorism and Counterterrorism said at the briefing that the intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population under New York's terrorism law was “strongly validated” by the response of all companies and the “barrage of online threats.”
“We have had real activity reported to the police commissioner, which is abhorrent and a cause for concern,” Weiner said, adding that the NYPD is working with its corporate security partners to ensure they are informed of best practices when reporting concerns are.
“Not just general environmental concerns, but specific threats that they may face, that a few weeks ago they might have written off as just noise in the online environment, that they are now taking seriously,” Weiner continued.
The killing of Thompson, a husband and father of two, highlighted the anger many Americans feel toward the health care industry and sparked fear in boardrooms across the country.
An NYPD intelligence report previously obtained by CNN said investigators believed Mangione appeared to be driven by anger against the health insurance industry and “corporate greed.”
That intelligence report warned that online rhetoric “could indicate an increased threat to senior leaders in the near future.”
“This was a murder intended to cause terror and we have seen that reaction. This was no ordinary murder,” Bragg said. “That’s not to say killing is normal, but this was extraordinary.”
Some legal experts believe the terrorism accusation is exaggerated
The NYPD intelligence report sparked fear among companies as business leaders faced heightened near-term threats and were advised to erase their digital footprints, CNN previously reported.
According to the CNN report, after Thompson's killing, security firms were flooded with calls from concerned companies asking them to ensure the safety of their executives.
“Let me be clear: Mangione did nothing heroic,” said NYPD Commissioner Tisch. “This was a senseless act of violence.”
But some legal experts say New York prosecutors went too far by charging Mangione with terrorism in the indictment.
RELATED: UnitedHealthcare CEO Killing: Who Is Mangione's 'Experienced' New York Lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo?
A criminal defense attorney, Stacy Schneider, told CNN's Jake Tapper on Tuesday that it may become even more difficult for prosecutors to prove that argument in court.
“This victim was shot in the back of the head, not the front of his head, in the dark on a quiet sidewalk early this morning. From a defense attorney's perspective, it doesn't look like this was intended to be a “terrorist murder,” Schneider said.
Schneider said Mangione's defense team could dismiss the murder charge against him, arguing that the reactions after the murder were “unintended consequences.”
“The murder happened first, the outcry came second and was completely unpredictable,” Schneider said. “So I think this may be an exaggeration of Murder No. 1.”
(The CNN Wire & 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.)
The timely one-hour special “20/20” premieres Thursday, December 19 at 10/9c on ABC. Stream on Hulu.
