Judge dismisses terror-related murder charges against Luigi Mangione

A New York judge has dismissed two terror-related murder charges against Luigi Mangione, finding they are "legally insufficient", although the 27-year-old still faces a count of second-degree murder in the killing of UnitedHealthcare's chief executive.

Mangione's defence had argued the charges of murder in the first degree in furtherance of an act of terrorism and murder in the second degree as a crime of terrorism should be tossed, because as defined in New York state legislation, crimes of terrorism refer to attacks on multiple civilians, not a shooting of a single individual.

Judge Gregory Carro granted their request, writing in his decision the evidence did not establish the killing of Brian Thompson in Manhattan last year was meant to co-erce or intimidate a civilian population, nor to influence the government.

"While the People place great emphasis on defendant's 'ideological' motive, there is no indication in the statute that a murder committed for ideological reasons - in this case, the defendant's apparent desire to draw attention to what he perceived as inequities or greed within the American healthcare system - fits within the definition of terrorism, without establishing the necessary element of an intent to intimidate or co-erce," Carro wrote in his decision to dismiss the two terror-related charges.

While second-degree murder is technically less severe than the previous top state charges against Mangione, he still faces a potential sentence of 25 years-to-life in prison, if convicted. Tuesday's ruling did nothing to alter the federal murder case against him, for which the Justice Department plans to seek the death penalty.

A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told CNN the office respected the court's decision "and will proceed on the remaining nine counts", including second-degree murder.

Carro's ruling came just as Mangione appeared in a Manhattan courtroom, where he was brought in wearing a beige jumpsuit, his wrists and ankles shackled, in anticipation of hearing the judge's decision on several defence motions aimed at halting or delaying Mangione's prosecution in New York state.

Separate from their arguments against the terror-related charges, Mangione's defence had sought to dismiss his murder indictment altogether, because he faces federal charges for the same killing - an argument the judge rejected in his ruling as premature.

The judge also ruled Manhattan prosecutors could use any evidence they obtained from Aetna. Mangione's attorneys had argued their client's medical records were wrongfully obtained from the insurance carrier.

Finally, Carro scheduled a hearing to weigh another defence request to suppress evidence seized at the time of his arrest and statements he made to law enforcement. A hearing on that matter will be held on 1 December - almost one year to the day that prosecutors say Mangione fatally shot Thompson, as the executive walked toward a hotel hosting UnitedHealthcare's annual investor conference in midtown Manhattan.

The subsequent dayslong manhunt captured national attention, as investigators shared details of Mangione's alleged writings, and the words "delay", "deny" and "depose" written on bullets and shell casings found at the scene.

The shooting was part of a surge of politically motivated attacks across the US, including last week's assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on a college campus in Utah.

Supporters have flocked to Mangione's court hearings, often wearing green clothes and carrying signs, and Tuesday was no different.

Several dozen people lined up outside the Manhattan criminal courthouse, hoping to get inside the hearing. A group of demonstrators also gathered to show support for Mangione, including one woman who wore green head-to-toe, donning a shirt patterned with the face of the Luigi video game character from Nintendo's 'Super Mario Bros'.

When they heard news the terrorism charges were dropped, the crowd outside the courthouse erupted into cheers. Mangione's attorneys, Karen and Marc Agnifilo, briefly thanked the protesters after Tuesday's hearing.

Mangione has raised more than US$1.2 million (NZ$2m) in an online fundraiser since his arrest last December, where donations are as small as $5.

Terrorism charges at issue

Mangione was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury last December on 11 counts, including first-degree murder and second-degree murder as a crime of terrorism, along with other weapon and forgery charges.

The first-degree murder charge alleged he killed the executive "in furtherance of an act of terrorism", which is legally defined as an intent to intimidate or co-erce the civilian population or a government unit.

Writings recovered from Mangione's backpack during his arrest "make clear that Mr Mangione was not looking to terrorise any community", his attorneys wrote. Mangione never publicly released his private writings, which address his views on healthcare and include a letter addressed to the FBI, which his attorneys said proved he didn't intend to cause wide intimidation of a population.

They also blamed law enforcement for leaking his writings and calling them a "manifesto".

"This would have been an alleged murder of a man outside a hotel. Instead, the police leaked what was written on the bullets, the police leaked Mr Mangione's alleged writings and the police called these alleged writings a manifesto - a term synonymous with terrorism.

"None of this was done by Mr Mangione. It was law enforcement that created the air of terrorism surrounding this alleged crime, and who now seek to blame Mr Mangione for the hysteria and fear they created."

In their response filing, prosecutors said Mangione's calculated assassination of Thompson - the CEO of the nation's largest health insurance company, whom he had no personal connection to - was meant to "violently broadcast a social and political message to the public at large". They also pointed to the fear felt by some UnitedHealthcare employees after Thompson's killing.

However, Carro ruled that employees of one company did not constitute a "civilian population", as described in state law. He also noted federal prosecutors had not charged Mangione with crimes of terrorism, even though the federal statute "served as a model" for New York state's statute.

"While the defendant was clearly expressing an animus toward UHC and the healthcare industry generally, it does not follow that his goal was to 'intimidate and coerce a civilian population'," Carro wrote, "Indeed, there was no evidence presented of such a goal."

Mangione's lawyers have yet to say whether they will seek to rely on a psychiatric defence.

Defence cited double jeopardy

The judge also found that the twin state and federal prosecutions of Mangione did not yet present a violation of the Constitution's double-jeopardy clause, which Mangione's attorneys had cited in a bid to have the state charges dismissed.

Mangione's attorneys said it was unprecedented and untenable for Mangione to defend himself in both cases at the same time. The defence motion to dismiss the indictment cited past prosecutions of high-profile mass shooters, when state prosecutors deferred to their federal counterparts or declined to add state charges to the mix.

Federal and state officials have said the state's case will go first, which his attorneys have strongly opposed, because the possible penalty is "less serious" than the federal death sentence he faces.

The defence motion accused the district attorney's office and federal prosecutors of "colluding to obstruct Mr Mangione's ability to meaningfully defend himself".

Carro was unpersuaded. In his ruling, the judge cited US Supreme Court precedent that found the same criminal act can be subject to prosecution by "two sovereigns" and wrote that the defendant's motion to dismiss based on double jeopardy was premature.

The judge similarly shrugged off a request by Mangione's defence that he allow the federal death-penalty case to proceed first. They had argued a conviction in a highly publicised prosecution could make it impossible to find an impartial jury in a later federal trial.

Prosecutors balked at the defence's asserted concern over publicity, pointing to Mangione's regularly updated website about the case, maintained by his defence team and the GiveSendGo donation page.

Indicating he expected the state case to span about two months, Carro wrote any fears the state case would prejudice Mangione's federal trial were "merely speculative", noting it could take several years before the federal case goes to trial.

When Mangione next appears in court in December, the court will hear the defence's request to suppress any evidence found in the backpack, including the gun, loaded magazine and his writings, which reveal Mangione's detailed thinking before the shooting, according to a previous court filing.

They also moved to suppress any statements Mangione made to law enforcement after his 9 December arrest at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, until 19 December, when he was extradited to New York.

Manhattan prosecutors had defended the actions, and said they're open to the defence request for Carro to hold hearings about whether those statements and the materials recovered from his backpack should be kept out of his trial.

-CNN