Luigi Mangione waives right to extradition hearing, headed to New York to face charges
Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, on Thursday morning waived his right to an extradition hearing and was placed on a flight to New York to face charges, NBC News reported.
Mangione appeared in a Blair County, Pennsylvania, court Thursday morning for a preliminary hearing and to address extradition, NBC News said, adding that the hearing ended with the judge ordering that Mangione be taken into the custody of the New York City Police Department instead of returning to Huntingdon State Correctional Institution.
The New York Times, citing two law enforcement officials, reported that Mangione was found with a notebook that read, 'What do you do? You wack the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention. It’s targeted, precise, and doesn’t risk innocents.'
With that, Mangione — dressed in an orange jumpsuit — was placed in a black SUV, and around 10:40 a.m., an NYPD motorcade with Pennsylvania state police was seen at Altoona-Blair County Airport where Mangione was placed on a small plane, NBC News said.
The flight to New York took off about 10 minutes later, the news network said.
NBC News said Mangione is expected to make an initial appearance Thursday in federal court in lower Manhattan.
What's the background?
Surveillance video showed a figure walking up behind Thompson outside a Hilton hotel in Manhattan on the morning of Dec. 4 and shooting him. The suspected shooter reportedly used a bicycle to get away from the scene.
Photo by Alex Kent/Getty Images
Bullet casings found at the shooting scene apparently were inscribed with words referring to health insurance claim denial tactics.
Just hours after the fatal shooting, Thompson's wife said her husband had been threatened. Paulette Thompson told NBC News in a phone call that "there had been some threats. Basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage? I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him."
The day after the shooting, police released a still photo of the suspect showing his face — and NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny later said that photo was a key element in capturing their suspect.
On the morning of Dec. 9, a McDonald's customer in Altoona, Pennsylvania — which is about two hours east of Pittsburgh — spotted Mangione, notified an employee, and soon police arrived to question him, the Associated Press reported.
An exterior view of the McDonald's restaurant where Luigi Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania.Photo by ADAM GRAY/AFP via Getty Images
Police indicated in a criminal complaint that they recognized Mangione as soon as he pulled down his mask at their request in the restaurant. When they asked Mangione if he'd been in New York City recently, police said he was quiet but started shaking.
Later Monday, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters that Altoona police arrested Mangione on firearm charges and that he was believed to be “our person of interest." Manhattan prosecutors that night filed murder and other charges against the 26-year-old Ivy League graduate, the AP said.
'Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming'
The AP — citing a law enforcement official unauthorized to discuss the investigation publicly and who spoke with the outlet on the condition of anonymity — said a three-page, handwritten document found in Mangione’s possession includes a line in which he claims to have acted alone.
“To the feds, I’ll keep this short, because I do respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone,” the document said, according to the official who spoke with the AP.
The document also contains the following line, the AP reported: “I do apologize for any strife or traumas, but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming.”
According to the New York Times, the 262-word "manifesto" also says that as UnitedHealthcare’s market capitalization has grown, American life expectancy has not — and it condemns companies that “continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has allowed them to get away with it.”
Last week, police said Mangione's fingerprints match those found at the scene of Thompson's fatal shooting and that a notebook found on Mangione details plans for the shooting.
CNN, citing two law enforcement officials briefed on the matter, reported that Mangione's fingerprints and those collected at the shooting scene are a positive match. The New York Times, citing two law enforcement officials, reported that Mangione was found with a notebook that read, “What do you do? You wack the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention. It’s targeted, precise, and doesn’t risk innocents."
Mangione on Tuesday was indicted for Thompson's murder.
Anything else?
Mangione appears to have a legion of fans. NBC News said Mangione supporters were seen outside the Pennsylvania court house earlier Thursday with some carrying signs that read "Free Luigi."
Photo by ADAM GRAY/AFP via Getty Images
President-elect Donald Trump condemned support for Mangione, calling it a "sickness."
Along those lines, Thompson's killing has sparked a wave of hatred for the health care industry and threats against corporate CEOs. Chicago police last week were investigating "Kill your CEO" graffiti spray-painted in white on multiple businesses in the city, WLS-TV reported.
WLS in a related report said a New York Police Department bulletin was issued Tuesday warning of increased risk for health care executives and the possibility of copycat perps.
The station, citing the bulletin, said online posts have listed the names and salaries of several health insurance executives, multiple "Wanted" flyers highlighting corporate executives have been posted throughout Manhattan, and social media users continue to celebrate Thompson's death.
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