Judge in Luigi Mangione state trial tosses 2 murder charges related to terrorism

HOUSTON, United States

The judge in the Luigi Mangione state trial in New York on Tuesday dismissed two murder charges related to terrorism, according to media outlets.

Mangione is accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare (UHC) CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel in New York last December

Judge Gregory Carro tossed out the most severe charge of first-degree murder, accusing Mangione of murder as a crime of terrorism. He said the evidence presented to the grand jury was insufficient to support the terrorism charge.

"While the defendant was clearly expressing an animus toward UHC, and the healthcare industry generally, it does not follow that his goal was to 'intimidate and coerce a civilian population,' and indeed, there was no evidence presented of such a goal," Carro wrote in his decision.

Carro also threw out a second-degree murder charge, related to killing as an act of terrorism. The judge, however, refused to dismiss another second-degree murder charge in the remaining nine-count indictment, to which Mangione has pleaded not guilty.

"We respect the Court's decision and will proceed on the remaining nine counts, including Murder in the Second Degree," the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said in a statement.

In addition to the second-degree murder charge, Mangione faces two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, four counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree and one count of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree.

Mangione was captured after a several-day manhunt in Altoona, Pennsylvania, nearly 300 miles (482 kilometers) west of New York City.

When police arrested Mangione at a McDonald's, he was carrying a backpack that investigators said contained the alleged murder weapon, a 9 millimeter handgun equipped with a silencer, a fake ID and a red notebook he used as a diary, in which Mangione expressed disdain about the health care industry.

"I finally feel confident about what I will do," one of his notebook entries said, according to authorities. "The target is insurance. It checks every box."

Defense attorneys have argued that Mangione's backpack was obtained illegally, without a search warrant.

A federal grand jury charged Mangione in April with two counts of stalking, firearms offenses and murder through the use of a firearm, a charge that makes him eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

Mangione has pleaded not guilty to all of the state charges in New York and Pennsylvania, as well as federal charges.

His next court hearing is scheduled for Dec. 1.