NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty Friday to a federal murder charge in the killing of . Prosecutors formally declared their intent to seek the death penalty, and the judge warned Justice Department officials to refrain from making public comments that could spoil his right to a fair trial.
Mangione, 26, stood between his lawyers and leaned toward a tabletop microphone as he entered the plea in Manhattan federal court. He responded 鈥測es鈥� when U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett asked if he understood the indictment that charges him with gunning down Thompson outside a midtown hotel last December.
Asked how he wished to plead, Mangione said simply 鈥渘ot guilty鈥� and sat down.
A cause c茅l猫bre for people upset with the health insurance industry, Mangione鈥檚 federal arraignment drew dozens of people to court, including former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, who served prison time for stealing classified diplomatic cables.
Some lined up for hours in front of the courthouse steps, trying to snag a seat inside. Others rallied across the street as a pair of advertising trucks drove around playing videos denouncing the health insurance industry and the death penalty.
, an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family, faces separate murders in federal and state court, where he faces a maximum punishment of life in prison.
Prosecutors had expected the state case go to trial first, but Mangione鈥檚 lawyers said Friday that they want the federal case to take precedent because it involves the death penalty. Because of the many legal issues involved in capital cases, Mangione鈥檚 federal case will move at a slower pace than non-death penalty prosecutions.
Mangione is next due in federal court on Dec. 5, a day after the one-year anniversary of Thompson鈥檚 death. His next appearance in the state case is set for June 26. No trial date has been set in either case.
Mangione, held in a federal jail in Brooklyn since his arrest, arrived to court Friday in a mustard-colored jail suit and chatted with one of his lawyers, death penalty counsel Avi Moskowitz, as they waited for the arraignment to begin.
Late Thursday night, federal prosecutors filed a required notice of their intent to seek the death penalty. That came weeks after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that she would be directing federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for what she called 鈥渁n act of political violence" and a 鈥減remeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.鈥�
It was the first time the Justice Department said it was pursuing capital punishment since President Donald Trump returned to the White House on Jan. 20 with a vow to resume federal executions after they were halted .
Mangione鈥檚 lawyers argue that Bondi鈥檚 announcement 鈥� which she followed with posts on Instagram account and a TV appearance 鈥� was a 鈥減olitical stunt鈥� that violated long-established Justice Department protocols, corrupted the grand jury process and deprived him of his constitutional right to due process.
After Mangione lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo raised the issue again on Friday, Garnett instructed federal prosecutors to convey to Bondi and other Justice Department officials that court rules prohibit any pretrial publicity that could interfere with a defendant鈥檚 right to a fair trial.
Mangione鈥檚 federal indictment includes a charge of murder through use of a firearm, which carries the possibility of the death penalty. The indictment also charges him with stalking and a gun offense.
Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting Thompson from behind as the executive arrived for UnitedHealthcare鈥檚 annual investor conference. Police say the words 鈥渄elay,鈥� 鈥渄eny鈥� and 鈥渄epose鈥� were scrawled on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase commonly used to describe .
The killing and ensuing five-day search leading to Mangione鈥檚 arrest rattled the business community while galvanizing health insurance critics who rallied around Mangione for frustrations over coverage denials and hefty bills.
Mangione was arrested Dec. 9 in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of New York City and whisked to Manhattan by plane and helicopter.
Police said Mangione had that matched the one used in the shooting and other items including a notebook in which they say he expressed hostility toward the health insurance industry and wealthy executives.
Among the entries, prosecutors said, was one from last August that said 鈥渢he target is insurance鈥� because 鈥渋t checks every box鈥� and one from October that describes an intent to 鈥渨ack鈥� an insurance CEO. UnitedHealthcare, the largest U.S. health insurer, has said Mangione was never a client.
Michael R. Sisak, The Associated Press
