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Luigi Mangione is being arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court on charges of state murder and terrorism in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Monday in New York. Associated Press

NEW YORK. The man accused of fatally shooting the CEO of UnitedHealthcare pleaded not guilty Monday to state charges of murder and terrorism, with his lawyer complaining that comments from the mayor of New York would make it difficult to get a fair trial.

Luigi Mangione, 26, was shackled and seated in a Manhattan court when he leaned into a microphone to announce his guilty plea. Last week, the Manhattan district attorney charged him with multiple murders, including murder as an act of terrorism.

Mangione’s first appearance in a New York state trial court was preceded by federal prosecutors who brought their own charges in the shooting. Federal charges carry the death penalty, while state charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison without parole.

Prosecutors said the two cases would be tried in parallel, with state charges expected to be filed first.

One of Mangione’s attorneys told the judge that “conflicting jurisdictions” had turned Mangione into a “human ping pong ball” and that New York City Mayor Eric Adams and other government officials had made him a political pawn, disqualifying him as a defendant and tainting the jury pool.

“I am very concerned about my client’s right to a fair trial,” attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo said.

Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch stood among a crowd of heavily armed officers last Thursday as Mangione was taken to a Manhattan heliport and escorted to the pier after being extradited from Pennsylvania.

Friedman Agnifilo said police turned Mangione’s return to New York into a choreographed spectacle. She cited Adams’ comments to a local television station as saying he wanted to be there “to look him in the eye and say, ‘You committed this terrorist act in my city.'”

“It was put on display for all to see, the greatest stage walk I’ve ever seen in my career. It was completely unnecessary,” she said.

She also accused federal and state prosecutors of advancing conflicting legal theories, calling their approach confusing and highly unusual.

In a statement, Adams’ spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak Altus wrote: “Critics can say whatever they want, but Mayor Eric Adams is being Mayor Eric Adams to stand up for our law enforcement and send a message to New Yorkers that our city has no place for violence and brutality. to its core.”

“The cold-blooded murder of father-of-two Brian Thompson and the terror he wreaked on the streets of New York for several days have since been vilified, drawing attention to the darkest corners of the Internet,” Mamelak Altus said. .

Trial Court Judge Gregory Carro said he has little control over what happens outside the courtroom, but he can ensure Mangione gets a fair trial.

Authorities say Mangione shot and killed Thompson as he walked to an investor conference in midtown Manhattan on the morning of Dec. 4.

Police said Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona after a five-day search, carrying a gun that matched the one used in the shooting and a fake ID. According to federal prosecutors, he also carried a notebook that expressed hostility toward the health insurance industry, and especially toward wealthy executives.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said at a news conference last week that the use of terrorism law reflects the seriousness of “a horrific, well-planned, targeted killing intended to shock, attract attention and intimidate.”

“In its most basic form, this was murder intended to cause terror,” he added.

Mangione is being held at a federal prison in Brooklyn along with several other high-profile defendants, including Sean “Diddy” Combs and Sam Bankman-Fried.

During his appearance in court Monday, he smiled at times as he spoke to his attorneys and held out his right hand after an officer removed his handcuffs.

Outside the courthouse, several dozen supporters chanted “Free Luigi” to the sound of a trumpet.

Natalie Monarrez, a 55-year-old resident of Staten Island, said she joined the demonstration because she lost her mother and her life savings to denied insurance claims.

“As extreme as it was, it sparked a conversation that we need to address this,” she said of the shooting. “Enough, people are fed up.”

An Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland family, Mangione appears to have cut himself off from family and friends in recent months. He often posted on online forums about his struggle with back pain. According to the insurer, he was never a customer of UnitedHealthcare.

Thompson, a married father of two high school students, worked at giant UnitedHealth Group for 20 years and became CEO of its insurance division in 2021.

The killing prompted some to express their outrage at America’s health insurance companies, and Mangione served as a proxy for the frustration of insurance denials and large medical bills. It has also rocked the corporate world, angering executives who say they have received a surge in threats.