By Julio-Cesar Chávez, Jonathan Allen and Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) -The suspect in the murder of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:) executive Brian Thompson is being charged with federal murder and stalking crimes, according to a court document filed on Thursday, along with state murder and terrorism charges previously announced by New York. York prosecutors.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are charging Luigi Mangione, 26, with the federal crime of murder with a firearm, two counts of stalking and one count of use of an illegal weapon silencer, according to a criminal complaint. The complaint accused Mangione of spending months planning an attack fueled by his disdain for the health insurance industry and wealthy corporate executives.
Mangione was transferred to the custody of New York City police early Thursday after he waived his right to extradition proceedings at a court hearing in Pennsylvania, the state where he was arrested following a five-day manhunt.
According to the federal complaint, a notebook that Altoona police found in Mangione's possession contained several handwritten pages that “express hostility toward the health insurance industry and wealthy executives in particular.” A notebook entry dated October 22 described an attempt to “outwit” the CEO of an insurance company at his investor conference.
“This investor conference is a real windfall,” said an entry found in the notebook, according to the complaint. “The most important thing is that the message becomes evident.”
Police also found a letter in the suspect's possession addressed “To the Feds” that stated, “I wasn't working with anyone,” according to the complaint.
“This was pretty trivial: some elementary social engineering, basic CAD, a lot of patience,” the letter said, using an abbreviation for computer-aided design.
Earlier this week, a grand jury in New York indicted Mangione on 11 counts of violating state law, including first-degree murder and murder as an act of terrorism. Mangione has been detained since his arrest and has not yet entered a plea. His New York defense attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, has said Mangione has been “overcharged” and will fight the charges in court.
Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9, five days after Thompson was shot to death outside a Manhattan hotel before a company conference in what law enforcement officials have called a premeditated murder.
While Thompson's murder has been widely condemned, Mangione has been hailed as a folk hero by some Americans who denounce the high costs of health care and the power insurance companies have to deny payment for some medical treatments.
The federal charges potentially allow prosecutors to pursue the death penalty, which has been abolished in New York for decades.
Prosecutors say Mangione “traveled in interstate commerce” taking a bus from Atlanta to New York before Thompson's murder and also used his cell phone and the Internet to plan and carry out his attack, so he has jurisdiction.
Mangione is scheduled to make an initial court appearance on the federal charges before U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker in Manhattan on Thursday afternoon.
“The federal government's decision to join an already overburdened first-degree murder and state terrorism case is highly unusual and raises serious constitutional and statutory double jeopardy concerns,” Mangione's attorney, Friedman Agnifilo, said in a statement. “We are willing to fight these charges in any court that arises.”
In Pennsylvania, police said Mangione had a self-assembled 9mm pistol in his backpack and a homemade silencer when he was arrested after being seen at a McDonald's (NYSE:) restaurant. The gun resembled the weapon used to kill Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the largest health insurer in the United States.
Mangione, a Maryland native who had lived in Hawaii, also had multiple fake identification documents, including a fake New Jersey ID that was used to check into a Manhattan shelter days before Thompson's shooting, police said.
In Pennsylvania, Mangione has been charged with forgery and unlawful possession of a weapon without a license.
In Blair County Court on Thursday morning, Mangione, dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit, had a preliminary hearing on the Pennsylvania charges, followed immediately by a second on New York's extradition request. A small crowd of supporters stood outside the courthouse, some waving signs condemning the health insurance industry.
Pennsylvania prosecutors told the court they had agreed to stay the Pennsylvania proceedings until after the conclusion of the New York proceedings.
Mangione spoke only briefly at the extradition hearing, saying he understood his rights and told Judge David Consiglio that he consented to surrender to the NYPD.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office charges Mangione with an act of terrorism under New York law because Thompson's murder was intended to intimidate or coerce civilians or “influence the policies of a unit of government “.
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