While the shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson has sparked a public debate about America’s private healthcare industry and political violence, one of the charges against the alleged shooter, Luigi Mangione, has sparked a legal debate over whether his alleged actions constitute “terrorism” and what effect officials’ special treatment of the case will have on a potential trial.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office charged Mangione with 11 counts earlier this month, including first-degree murder in the furtherance of terrorism, which has been scrutinized by many in the legal community.
Barbara McQuade, a former federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of Michigan, told Salon that the terrorism charge corresponds to the state’s definition of terrorism. Terrorism is defined in New York as a crime committed “with intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of a unit of government by intimidation or coercion, or affect the conduct of a unit of government by murder, assassination, or kidnapping.”
According to McQuade, Mangione’s alleged assassination of Thompson qualifies as an action taken with the “intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population.” She cited the shooter “putting the words on the bullets” and the materials discovered with Mangione at the time of his arrest as evidence that he allegedly attempted to intimidate those in charge of the healthcare industry.
“This case is really more than just a garden variety murder case,” she said. “I think I agree with the charging decision here in that it is political violence and that, in order to deter political violence, we need to send a message that this is above and beyond garden variety murder.”
Javed Ali, a law professor at the University of Michigan, agreed with McQuade, pointing out that New York officials are treating the shooting as an act of terror in more ways than just the charges.
Ali pointed to Mangione’s perp walk, where he was surrounded by heavily armed law enforcement and Mayor Eric Adams. He said it was similar to Timothy McVeigh’s perp walk, which killed 168 people in 1995.
Ali stated that the perp walk demonstrates that New York officials are giving the shooting special weight, though he added that the terror charge may be dropped as the trial approaches if prosecutors believe it will be difficult to prove.
Mangione’s case is receiving special attention from law enforcement officials, which is part of what some lawyers are questioning about the shooting’s handling.
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Salon that he sees the terrorism charge as a “stretch” and believes that charging Mangione with an act of terror shifts the focus of the case away from Thompson’s death and toward the American health insurance industry.
“Terrorism requires either the intent to intimidate the public or to influence the government,” Mr. Rahmani stated. “Now all of a sudden, the health insurance industry and his motivation all come into evidence in what would otherwise be a pretty clear murder case.”
Unlike other New York cases where terrorism has been alleged, like the white supremacist shooting at a Tops supermarket in 2022, there is widespread public support for Mangione, and the unusual treatment that his case is receiving, Rahmani said, may only make it more difficult for prosecutors to win in court.
“It is unusual—the way the entire case has been handled. “You have Eric Adams, who is under indictment, at the perp walk,” Rahmani said. “I see a significant risk of jury nullification in this case. I have not seen anything like this since OJ, when there was so much sympathy for the accused.
Jeremy Saland, a criminal defense attorney and former Manhattan prosecutor, agreed that the charge was both “stretch” and “offensive.”
“I do not recall the Southern District swooping in or Mayor Adams coming in for any time a domestic abuser crosses state lines,” Saland told the press. “Unless you are going to stand behind victims of domestic violence with the same voice.”
He said the charge was offensive for two reasons. First, it sends a message to the families of victims of less serious murders that the state and city regard Thompson’s murder as far more important than others. Second, he stated that investigating the alleged political motivations behind the shooting has shifted the focus of the case.
“All of this has become about Mangione and you forgetting about Thompson,” Saland claimed. “This is unjust to both Brian Thompson and the criminal justice system. This is not fair to the victims of’regular’ murders.”
Another possibility, according to Ali, is that prosecutors brought the terrorism charge against Mangione in the hopes of getting him to agree to a plea deal, which could include dropping the first-degree murder charge in exchange for him pleading guilty to second-degree murder, which he also faces.
Ali also mentioned that the timing of the state and federal cases against Mangione could affect one another. Mangione faces federal charges of murder and stalking with a firearm.
The former of these charges could result in the death penalty, which the incoming Trump administration is expected to impose liberally. As a result, if Mangione’s federal trial takes place first, his state-level case may not proceed, according to Ali.