US: Luigi M. pleads not guilty of murder, terrorism charges

Monday marked the second court appearance in New York for Luigi M. since his arrest at a McDonald's restaurant in Pennsylvania, five days after UnitedHealth Group CEO Brian Thompson was killed outside a hotel in Manhattan. 

M. pleaded not guilty to New York state murder charges. The 26-year-old faces an 11-count indictment, which includes three murder charges, one of them being murder as an act of terrorism.

If convicted, M. faces a maximum sentence of life in person without the possibility of parole.

Lawyer: Concerned about right to a fair trial

According to Karen Friedman Agnifilo, the lawyer representing M., the 26-year-old has been receiving the treatment of "some sort of political fodder."

"He is not a symbol, he is someone who is afforded a right to a fair trial," Agnifilo said.

She added that comments from government officials, including New York Mayor Eric Adams, robbed M. of his rights as a defendant and tainted the jury pool.

"I am very concerned about my client's right to a fair trial," Friedman Agnifilo said.

Adams mayor and a top police official were among a group of heavily armed officers when M. was flown to a Manhattan heliport and escorted up a pier after being extradited from Pennsylvania last week.

Friedman Agnifilo said police turned M.'s return to New York into a choreographed spectacle.

"He was on display for everyone to see in the biggest stage perp walk I've ever seen in my career. It was absolutely unnecessary," she said.

Federal and state charges filed against M.

He also faces a four-count federal criminal complaint charging him with stalking and killing Thompson. If convicted in federal court, M. could face the death penalty.

He has not yet been asked to enter a plea to those charges.

Outside the courthouse, a small group of protesters had gathered to show their support for M. and anger at health care companies, with one person holding a sign saying "Deny, Defend, Depose," the words police say were found on shell casings at the crime scene. Te terms echo tactics some accuse insurers of using to avoid paying out claims.

While public officials condemned Thmopson's killing, M. has become somewhat of a folk hero to some Americans who decry the steep costs of health care and the power held by insurance companies to deny paying for some medical treatments.

ftm/sms (Reuters, AP, AFP)