Mangione pleads not guilty as US seeks death penalty

New York: The judge overseeing the federal prosecution of Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing a health insurance executive in Manhattan, on Friday warned the US attorney general to keep quiet about him to ensure a fair trial

As Mangione, 26, pleaded not guilty to a murder charge that could bring the death penalty, the judge, Margaret Garnett, made it clear that she wanted to depoliticize the circuslike atmosphere surrounding the case.

Mangione has become a hero to some Americans who say they are disgusted with the nation's for-profit health system and an emblem of chaos for Attorney General Pam Bondi, who had announced that the government would seek capital punishment against him "as we carry out President Trump's agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again."

On Friday, scores of Mangione's supporters came to the Thurgood Marshall US. Courthouse on Foley Square, with many waiting in line for hours outside. Trucks with his image circled around.

Inside the packed courtroom, Garnett directed prosecutors to convey her caution against public commentary to the interim US attorney, Jay Clayton, and asked that he pass on the message to Bondi.

Mangione's lawyers had already complained about Bondi's public statements. On April 1, even before he was indicted, Bondi said the government would pursue the death penalty to carry out Trump's agenda.

A few days later, in an interview on Fox News Sunday, she again discussed the decision, saying, "The president's directive was very clear: We are to seek the death penalty when possible."

Garnett's caution Friday came at Mangione's arraignment in Manhattan federal court, where he was indicted April 17 on a charge of using a firearm to commit murder, for which he could receive the death penalty if he is convicted.

Asked by the judge how he pleaded to the four-count indictment, Mangione said, "Not guilty." He was dressed in jail garb and seated with his lawyers as the defense table. He appeared attentive, consulting quietly with his legal team and at least once appearing to write in a notepad.

The case stems from the early-morning shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50.

The killing occurred outside a midtown Manhattan hotel where Thompson's firm was hosting an investors conference. Authorities say Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland family, was masked and armed with a 9 mm, 3D-printed ghost gun equipped with a silencer when he approached Thompson.

Mangione was arrested April 9 at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where authorities said he was found with a handwritten manifesto condemning the American health care system.

Two discharged shell casings found at the scene of the killing had the words "DENY" and "DEPOSE" written on them, and "DELAY" was written on a bullet also found there, authorities have said.

In addition to the federal charges, Mangione has been indicted by the office of Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, on a count of first-degree murder in furtherance of an act of terrorism, which carries a potential life prison sentence. Mangione has also pleaded not guilty to the state charges.

Federal prosecutors Friday filed legal papers giving formal notice that the government was seeking the death penalty against Mangione, and listing factors supporting their decision.

They said that the killing was intentional and involved substantial planning and premeditation, and that Mangione posed a "future danger because he expressed intent to target an entire industry, and rally political and social opposition to that industry, by engaging in an act of lethal violence."

They also said he had fled New York to evade law enforcement immediately after the murder.

Mangione's lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo told Garnett that Mangione's phone conversations with his lawyers had been inadvertently recorded in jail and provided to the US attorney's office. She said she was told the recordings would not be shared with the prosecutors in federal and state court involved in Mangione's case. The judge asked the government to look into the matter and provide her an update by May 2.

As the process ground forward methodically in court, the events outside were more informal.

John McIntosh, 43, had been in line since 7:30 p.m. Thursday. He was fifth and he was hawking his seat: "For only $350, it's yours," he said loudly, waiting for someone to bite.

The name "Luigi" seemed to be on everyone's tongues. People swapped stories about their connections to him, however tenuous -- a friend might have played against him in lacrosse; someone went to a party years earlier that he might have attended.

Sandra Ministro, 33, a software engineer who traveled from New Jersey on Friday morning to attend the arraignment, said, "I think everyone does truly deserve health care."

She carried a piece of white poster board with the words "Healthcare is a human right," "Lives over profit" and "Free Luigi" scrawled in colorful marker.