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NY judge drops state terrorism charges against Luigi Mangione in UnitedHealthcare case
By
Ben Feuerherd
Published Sep 16, 2025
Modified Sep 16, 2025
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Photo by TIMOTHY A.CLARY/AFP via Getty Images
By
Ben Feuerherd
Published Sep 16, 2025
Modified Sep 16, 2025
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A Manhattan judge on Tuesday dismissed two counts of terrorism charges against Luigi Mangione, saying in court that prosecutors had not presented sufficient evidence to bring them.
Mangione will still face a murder charge and other weapons charges not connected to terrorism, Judge Gregory Carro said.
“While there is no doubt that the crime at issue here is not ordinary ‘street crime,’ it does not follow that all non-street crimes were meant to be included within the reach of the terrorism statute,” Carro wrote in his decision to dismiss the two counts.
A spokesperson for the Manhattan district attorney’s office said in a statement that prosecutors would proceed on the remaining counts, including murder in the second degree. If convicted, Mangione would face 25 years to life in prison on that count.
In a motion filed prior to Tuesday’s hearing, Mangione’s attorney argued prosecutors had not put forward sufficient evidence that he intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population or the government when prosecutors say he gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Midtown street on Dec. 4, 2024.
In their motion, Mangione's attorneys argued New York's terrorism law was designed to apply to a very narrow set of cases. They said charging Mangione with terrorism offenses trivialized the law’s intent and “fit the square peg of murder in the round hole of terrorism.”
Days after the shooting, police arrested Mangione in Pennsylvania. They said they recovered a hard-to-trace "ghost gun" and what they described as a handwritten manifesto that was critical of the health care industry in the United States.
Thompson’s killing touched off a wave of support for Mangione by U.S. citizens and people across the globe, including some who espouse views critical of capitalism and the private health care industry. More than a dozen Mangione supporters, predominately young women, attended his court hearing Tuesday, seated in the back rows in the gallery of the 13th-floor courtroom. Activist and U.S. military whistleblower Chelsea Manning has attended previous Mangione court hearings.
Mangione also faces charges brought by federal prosecutors in Manhattan and by local prosecutors in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where he was arrested. Federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in his federal case.
Mangione’s attorneys had also made motions to throw out evidence recovered during his arrest and dismiss the entire indictment brought in state court.
In the motion to dismiss the indictment, Mangione’s attorneys argued the dual prosecutions in state and federal court violate the Constitution's double-jeopardy clause, which bars someone from being prosecuted for the same crime twice. They also argued it violates his due process rights and could wrongly influence his right to a fair trial.
Carro said it would be premature to rule on the double-jeopardy motion Tuesday because Mangione has not been tried in any court since his arrest.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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manhattan
new york city
public safety
Ben Feuerherd
Ben Feuerherd covers public safety and policing for WNYC and Gothamist. He previously covered federal courts for The New York Post and The Messenger. His work has also appeared in POLITICO, the Daily Beast and NBC New York. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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