BALTIMORE, MD—Luigi Mangione, 26, pleaded “not guilty” on Monday to charges related to the December 4th murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione is accused of shooting Thompson twice in the back outside a midtown Manhattan hotel.

The Gilman School graduate spoke into a microphone, saying “Not guilty” to the 11 charges in the indictment,

The arraignment in a lower Manhattan courtroom follows Mangione’s indictment last week on state charges including first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism and multiple weapons possession charges. The U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York has also filed federal charges, including one that could carry the death penalty.

Prosecutors allege that Mangione targeted Thompson, who was in New York for an investor conference, using a 3D-printed ghost gun. According to their account, Mangione traveled to Manhattan by bus, checked into an Upper West Side hostel using a fake ID, and waited for approximately an hour outside Thompson’s hotel before shooting him.

Following the shooting, Mangione fled the scene. Law enforcement pored over surveillance footage to track his movements, and he was later arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The Ivy League graduate and high school valedictorian has since become a figure of interest for some individuals critical of the health insurance industry.

During Monday’s court appearance, dozens of members of the public attended, filling four rows of benches in the 13th-floor courtroom. Over a dozen supporters also gathered outside the courthouse in the cold, some displaying signs with messages such as “Deny Defend Depose” and “United Healthcare stole my livelihood.” These words echo those found on bullets recovered from the crime scene, according to police.

The Manhattan grand jury indictment charges first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism, two counts of second-degree murder (one as a crime of terrorism), illegal weapons possession, and illegal possession of a forged instrument. A conviction on the most serious charge could result in a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

This article was written with the assistance of AI and reviewed by a human editor.