Dec. 10 (UPI) — Luigi Mangione, whom police suspect of killing a UnitedHealthcare CEO, struggled with police and yelled at news media while being escorted into an extradition hearing in Pennsylvania, where he challenged his extradition to New York.
Mangione is suspected of stalking and shooting to death UnitedHealthcare chief executive officer Brian Thompson on Wednesday and was arrested in Altoona, Pa., on Monday after a McDonald’s worker recognized him and called local police.
While police escorted him into the Blair County courthouse at 1:55 p.m. on Tuesday, Mangione struggled with about a half dozen officers and yelled out to media in the area.
“It’s completely out of touch and is an insult to the intelligence of the American people and their lived experience!” Mangione shouted to media.
Mangione, 26, was dressed in an orange jumpsuit with his hands and feet shackled on Tuesday after he was arrested on a gun charge and forged documents due to the ghost gun, suppressor and fake IDs that he allegedly had in his possession.
The judge presiding over Mangione’s extradition hearing denied his request for bail and gave New York prosecutors 30 days to produce a warrant for his extradition to New York.
Mangione told the judge he understood he has the right to oppose his arrest. His attorney objected to the arrest warrant for Mangione and challenged his client’s extradition to New York.
A prosecutor told media Mangione’s opposition to extradition is a delaying tactic that commonly is done by those accused of crimes in other states.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has charged Mangione with murder, and Blair County prosecutors said the New York charges against Mangione take precedence over the charges against him in Pennsylvania.
Mangione was arrested after diners at the Altoona McDonald’s recognized him from media reports and online photos. One of the diners reported his presence to the McDonald’s worker who called the police.
An arresting officer said Mangione started shaking when asked if he had been in New York recently, Altoona Police Deputy Chief Derick Swope told reporters on Monday.
Mangione allegedly suffered a back injury that might have required spinal fusion surgery in 2023 and stopped dating because he could not be “intimate” due to the back pain that he experienced, Newsweek reported.
