Luigi Mangione appeared in New York state court Friday in Manhattan in the case of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's killing.
Friday's preliminary pretrial hearing was Mangione's first court appearance since he was arraigned on state murder charges in December.
It also marked the first time in 60 days that the 26-year-old defendant was allowed to leave the federal jail in Brooklyn, where he is being held without bail.
Mangione pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism, in the killing of Thompson outside the Hilton Midtown hotel on Dec. 4, 2024.
The UnitedHealthcare CEO, husband and father of two was gunned down on the sidewalk as he walked to an investors conference.
After a five-day manhunt, police arrested Mangione at a McDonalds in Pennsylvania. Police said he was carrying a gun that matched the one used in the shooting and a notebook expressing hostility toward the health insurance industry.
Mangione is being held at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Mangione facing state and federal charges
During his arraignment, Mangione's defense attorney accused New York City Mayor Eric Adams of tainting the jury pool by bringing Mangione back to Manhattan in a choreographed show of force, surrounded by heavily armed officers.
Last week, for the first time since his arrest, Mangione released a public statement in which he expressed gratitude for letters of support he has received in jail. Mangione's attorneys say he has accepted more than $300,000 in donations for his legal defense.
Mangione also faces federal charges that could carry the possibility of the death penalty. Prosecutors said that both cases will proceed on parallel tracks, with the state charges expected to go to trial first.
"We have two sovereigns in this country -- we have a state sovereign and we have a federal sovereign. They do not interact with each other in the sense of they depend on each other," legal analyst Tracy Pearson told CBS News New York. "The state is going to go first, as far as we know at this point, and then it will move over to the federal system. The elements and the requirements for the prosecutors to prove each of these charges are different."
Pearson explained the state may have a difficult time arguing the murder as an act of terrorism charge.
"That statute, in particular, requires that they establish that it was an attempt to terrorize the civilian population. In this situation, what we're talking about is an alleged individual targeting of one person," she said. "It was a statute that was enacted after 9/11, so it makes sense in that context, maybe not in this one."
Pearson also said the jury selection process could be complicated, given the outpouring of online support for Mangione.
"That is a huge perception problem. As we saw with the case involving the State of New York vs. Donald J. Trump, there was a very difficult jury selection process. It's going to be that way here, because there's been so may donations that have been made to a public fund for him," she said. "That is also going to be difficult because, recently, one of those donations was made anonymously, so they're going to have to make sure that the jurors aren't people who have contributed to this fund."
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