Accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione may have plotted Brian Thompson's shooting in August, court papers say

Alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangione may have plotted the killing of top executive Brian Thompson as early as August, according to newly filed court documents charging Mangione with murder under federal law, as the accused killer was arraigned Thursday after his dramatic arrival in New York City.

"The target is insurance because ‘it checks every box,’" read a passage from a notebook, which was dated Aug. 15, that authorities found with Mangione when he was arrested, a complaint unsealed Thursday shows.

The details "are finally coming together," the passage continued, according to the complaint. "I’m glad in a way that I've procrastinated. bc [because] it allowed me to learn more about [acronym for Company-1 ]."

Mangione, 26, a computer scientist from Maryland, was ordered held without bail on the federal charges of murder through the use of a firearm, two stalking counts and a firearms offense at his initial appearance in federal court in Manhattan — just hours after he waived extradition from Pennsylvania and arrived at Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma on a small plane before a police helicopter flew him to Manhattan.

Mangione’s long-awaited arrival in New York City capped a dramatic series of events, beginning with the Dec. 4 assassination-style killing of Thompson — a married father of two — on a midtown sidewalk, a dayslong search that ended in his arrest on Dec. 9 in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and his initial refusal to be extradited to Manhattan.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams was present at the NYPD helicopter landing in lower Manhattan with Mangione on board, broadcasts showed. Mangione, shackled and still wearing an orange jumpsuit, was walked from the helicopter to a waiting black van amid high security, including members of the Emergency Services Unit holding long guns.

Outside the Manhattan courthouse, demonstrators expressed support for Mangione, a high school valedictorian and Ivy League graduate, who has been lionized as a hero on social media by some who are disgusted with the health insurance industry.

One person held a sign reading "Delay, Deny, Depose" — the same words police say were written on the shell casings found at the scene of the CEO's killing.

Inside the federal courthouse, Mangione, wearing a button-down shirt and khakis, did not enter a plea. He nodded as U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker read the charges. He spoke only to say "yes" when asked by the judge if had read the charges.

His lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, did not seek bail but reserved the right to do so at a later date.

Mangione is due back in federal court in mid-January unless he is indicted by a grand jury before then.

If convicted on the federal murder charge, Mangione could face the death penalty, though prosecutors have not said whether they intend to seek the punishment.

After Mangione waived extradition from Pennsylvania to New York Thursday morning, he was widely expected to be arraigned later in the day on state charges filed by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who had announced earlier this week that Mangione had been indicted on first- and second-degree murder charges, with a terrorism enhancement.

At Mangione’s arraignment, Friedman Agnifilo questioned how the dual cases against her client would proceed.

"This is a highly unusual situation that we find ourselves in," she said, adding that she had been told her client would be arraigned in state court.

"The theory of the Manhattan DA's case seems to be in conflict with these charges," she said, pointing out that stalking, which is part of the federal case, is a crime against an individual, while the terrorism enhancement charged by state prosecutors is a crime against the wider populace.

"Are these two cases? Is this a joint effort?" Friedman Agnifilo asked. "There are a number of confusing factors here."

In a written statement released before her client’s appearance in court, Friedman Agnifilo criticized the move to charge Mangione federally.

"The federal government's reported decision to pile on top of an already overcharged first-degree murder and state terror case is highly unusual and raises serious constitutional and statutory double jeopardy concerns," Friedman Agnifilo said. "We are ready to fight these charges in whatever court they are brought."

In court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Dominic Gentile did not address the potential issues raised by Mangione’s counsel, other than to say, "The government is prepared to address any legal arguments that the defense has."

The Southern District of New York’s acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim, in a statement Thursday, said Bragg’s case "is currently expected to proceed to trial before the federal case."

Bragg, when asked about the two cases at an unrelated news conference Thursday, said that generally speaking "state prosecutions and federal prosecutions proceed as parallel matters," according to multiple news outlets.

Bragg announced on Tuesday that Mangione had been indicted on first- and second-degree murder charges as an "act of terrorism" in Thompson's shooting, saying the killing that was done to "sow terror."

The unsealed indictment charged Mangione with one count of first-degree murder as an act of terrorism and two counts of second-degree murder, one as an act of terrorism and the other as an intentional killing, Bragg said.

It is unclear when Mangione will be arraigned on the state charges contained in the indictment.

The newly unsealed federal complaint also provides other details in Mangione’s notebook and in a letter to "the feds."

"The Notebook contained several handwritten pages that express hostility toward the health insurance industry and wealthy executives in particular," the complaint said.

Another passage from Oct. 22 reads: "1.5 months. This investor conference is a true windfall ... and — most importantly — the message becomes self evident."

Later in the entry, the notebook describes the intention to "wack" (sic) the "CEO of one of the insurance companies at its investor conference," the complaint said, noting it was apparently written about six weeks before Thompson was killed. 

In a letter called "The Feds Letter," which was recovered from Mangione, he allegedly wrote, according to the complaint: "I wasn't working with anyone. This was fairly trivial: Some elementary social engineering, basic CAD, a lot of patience."

It added, the complaint said: "P.S. you can check serial numbers to verify this is all self-funded. My own ATM withdrawals."

Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 9 after a McDonald's worker called 911 to report a man there appeared to resemble an NYPD-designated person of interest in the killing that NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch called a "brazen, targeted attack." His capture happened as a massive hunt for him was entering its sixth day, as the suspect had apparently fled New York City almost immediately after the shooting.

Mangione, during a brief hearing in Blair County, Pennsylvania, Thursday morning, waived extradition to New York and said he understood that he was waiving his right to oppose extradition, replying "yes" to Judge David Consiglio when asked. About a dozen NYPD officials — wearing jackets and vests marked NYPD — sat in the front row of the courtroom during the proceedings.

Mangione’s trek to New York began at a rapid pace once the hearing concluded.

Mangione, who was clean shaven and appeared to have had a haircut, was led from the courthouse and into a waiting black SUV with New York license  plates shortly after the extradition hearing had concluded, according to press pool images.

Mangione was seen being walked onto a small plane in Martinsburg, Pennsylvania, at about 10:40 a.m. Thursday, broadcast images showed.

His flight from Pennsylvania into the metropolitan area was the most-tracked flight worldwide on Flightradar24, an outfit that tracks flights worldwide.

He landed at Long Island MacArthur Airport at 12:14 p.m. and was placed in an NYPD helicopter for the ride into Manhattan, where he landed at 1 p.m.

 Mangione’s Pennsylvania-based lawyer, Thomas Dickey, said he initially opposed extradition because his client did not have an attorney to represent him in New York.

"We have been able to secure counsel in the state of New York," Dickey said. "I am satisfied we will have a smooth transition."

Outside the Pennsylvania courthouse on Thursday morning, a handful of demonstrators gathered. One man, who would only give his first name, held a sign outside declaring "Free Luigi."

Ashlyn Adami, who said she’s had negative experiences with the health care and health insurance industry, said she was at the courthouse to bring attention to problems with the system.

"I don’t believe in murder; I’m a pacifist," said Adami, of South Bend, Indiana. "I don’t believe in violence, but I think a lot of people aren’t willing to reckon with the fact that privatized health care is systemic violence." 

Police have said — and the FBI reiterated in its complaint — that Mangione was found in possession of an illegal ghost gun, which the NYPD later said was a match to shell casings found at the scene of Thompson's killing, and multiple fake IDs, including a New Jersey driver's license that was used to rent a room at an Upper West Side hostel before the killing.

The NYPD has also said it linked Mangione to the killing through fingerprints found on a water bottle and Kind bar wrapper found near the scene of the killing outside the New York Hilton Midtown on Sixth Avenue.

With Nicholas Grasso