Luigi Mangione (26) was formally charged last week by the Manhattan district attorney with multiple counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism. He will face two trials for his alleged crimes: a state case and a federal prosecution, which will run parallel. His initial appearance in the New York state Supreme Court was pre-empted by federal prosecutors bringing their charges over the shooting.
The federal charges could carry the possibility of the death penalty, while the maximum sentence for the state charges is life in prison without parole. Prosecutors have said the two cases will proceed on parallel tracks, with the state charges expected to go to trial first. Authorities say Mangione gunned down Brian Thompson as he was walking to an investor conference in midtown Manhattan on the morning of December 4th.
[ Luigi Mangione: Manhattan murder manhunt ends in everyday American fashion at McDonald’s Opens in new window ] Mangione was arrested in a Pennsylvania McDonald’s after a five-day search, carrying a gun that matched the one used in the shooting and a fake ID, police said. He also was carrying a notebook expressing hostility toward the health insurance industry and especially wealthy executives, according to federal prosecutors. At a news conference announcing the state charges on Tuesday, Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg said the application of the terrorism law reflected the severity of a “frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was .
