Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty to federal murder charge. What does this mean?

Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty to the federal charge of murder that carries the death penalty over the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson . This means now Mangione will face the trial as the judge told the court that she will hold the next hearing in December to set a date for the trial.

Inside the courtroom, there were some Luigi Mangione supporters before the arraignment began. But they were ushered to an overflow room to make room for journalists covering the trial. Mangione was wearing a beige prison jumpsuit and was shackled at the wrists and ankles as he entered the courtroom.

During the appearance, Mangione's lawyer Karen Agnifilo alleged to the judge her team had received information that his calls with attorneys have been listened to by prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney's office — which is prosecuting a separate state case.

The alleged eavesdropping was “inadvertent,” Agnifilo was told, but she reiterated that measures be put in place to ensure Mangione is afforded the privacy required to protect his attorney-client privilege.

The judge has ordered all discovery to be produced by the prosecution within 30 days. This will be on May 27. This includes search warrants, social media, and information from the Pennsylvania prosecutors and the Manhattan District Attorney. As a reminder, Mangione was arrested at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania. In court cases, discovery is the formal process where each side gathers and exchanges information and evidence before a trial.

Luigi Mangione case so far

The alleged killer has the whole country hooked on to the case as his arrest led to a weird lionization of his alleged action against the health insurance major. On December 4, Brian Thompson was shot dead in Manhattan. Luigi Mangione was arrested in connection with the killing in Pennsylvania, more than 270 miles away from the shooting. He allegedly possessed on him the fake ID used by the suspect, the gun they believe was used in the shooting and a handwritten “claim of responsibility,” authorities have said.

Mangione was not insured by UnitedHealthcare, but at the time of his arrest, he allegedly had a handwritten notebook that expressed “hostility toward the health insurance industry and wealthy executives in particular,” according to a federal complaint. Notably, three 9mm shell casings from the crime scene had the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” written on them, the NYPD has said, an apparent nod to a 2010 book critiquing insurance industry.