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Luigi Mangione struggled with police and shouted about an “insult to the American people” as officers forcibly led him into a Pennsylvania courtroom for an extradition hearing Monday afternoon.
The 26-year-old, who has been charged with second-degree murder in connection to last week’s killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was denied bail at the hearing and is fighting extradition back to New York.
He appeared at Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg this afternoon in handcuffs and wearing an orange prison jumpsuit.
“It’s completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people and their lived experience!” Mangione shouted after stepping out of a police car.
He was flanked by several officers who pushed him towards the door.
Mangione is being represented by Altoona-based lawyer Thomas M.Dickey, according to the New York Times, and declined to comment as he walked into the courtroom to join his client.
Dickey told the hearing, which lasted approximately 45 minutes, that his client was “contesting” extradition, the Times reports.
Mangione will be held at Huntingdon State Correctional Institution in Pennsylvania while the extradition process plays out.
Prosecutors have 30 days to obtain a governor’s warrant that will allow New York authorities to take him back to New York City to face murder charges.
Mangione was arrested Monday after being recognized in McDonald’s from the images circulated by the NYPD after last week’s killing.
Officers found a ghost gun, a suppressor, “multiple fraudulent IDs” and a handwritten 262-word manifesto that allegedly slammed the health care system, in his possession when he was arrested, authorities said.
A McDonald’s customer thought his friend was joking after they spotted Mangione in the Pennsylvania fast food joint. The McDonald’s regular, identified only as Larry, was in the Altoona branch on Monday with a group of friends when the suspect walked through the door.
“One of my friends, and I thought he was kidding, when the shooter — I’m assuming was the shooter who they made the arrest on — came in. [My friend] made a comment – ‘That looks like the shooter from New York,’” Larry told Fox Digital.
“The group of us thought it was more of a joke, and we were kidding about it,” Larry continued. “But as it turned out, it was him.”
Altoona Police Department Deputy Chief Derek Swope told reporters today that the department has received threats following Mangione’s arrest.
“We have received some threats against our officers and building here, we’ve started investigating some threats against some citizens in our community. We’re taking all those threats seriously and doing all the follow-up we can with those,” Swope said.
Source: independent.co.uk
