New York state judge dismisses terrorism charges against Luigi Mangione News
no human authorship, CCTV at HI New York City Hostel, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
New York state judge dismisses terrorism charges against Luigi Mangione

A New York state judge on Tuesday dismissed terrorism charges against Luigi Mangione, the alleged shooter of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Mangione faces multiple federal and state charges after he was accused of stalking and killing Thompson in New York City at an investor conference on December 4, 2024. The contested charges in New York included first-degree murder in furtherance of an act of terrorism and second-degree murder as a crime of terrorism. Prosecutors sought terrorism charges by contending that Mangione intended to “violently broadcast a social and political message to the public at large.”

However, Judge Gregory Carro disagreed with the prosecution and dismissed both terrorism charges, stating:

Here, the evidence presented failed to establish that the defendant committed the crime to coerce or intimidate a civilian population, or to influence or affect the policy of a unit of government, and therefore, the first two counts of the indictment are dismissed. The remaining counts of the indictment, including murder in the second degree, are legally sufficient.

The NYPD also recently warned that business leaders and political figures may be at an increased risk since this incident. Following the fatal shooting of right-wing activist and Turning Point USA founder, Charlie Kirk, authorities have warned of more potential “copycat killers.” Some have speculated over possible connections between the Thompson and Kirk assassinations because shooters in both cases reportedly wrote inscriptions on bullet casings and targeted prominent figures.

Mangione still faces nine other state charges, as well as four federal charges that carry a potential death penalty. Judge Carro refused to give a ruling on the other state charges against Mangione, for which the court will hear arguments on December 1.

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