Accused UnitedHealthcare CEO murder suspect Luigi Mangione returns to NYC to face federal charges

The suspect charged with shooting to death the UnitedHealthcare chief executive on a Manhattan street has waived his extradition to New York and has been transported back to New York City, where he is expected to face federal and state judges.

Luigi Mangione's decision Thursday to waive his extradition from Pennsylvania cleared the way for his return to New York.

Federal prosecutors also filed a federal complaint against Mangione on Thursday charging him with murder through use of a firearm, two counts of stalking and a firearms offense.

He is expected to make an initial appearance in federal court in New York at 2 p.m., according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. Any court appearance on the state murder charges would likely be put off for another time and date, though those charges will take precedence over federal ones.

Mangione attended the early morning proceedings Thursday at the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania with his attorney Thomas Dickey. A preliminary hearing on local gun charges that was scheduled to happen before the extradition hearing was postponed.

The district attorney in Blair County, Pennsylvania, Pete Weeks, has said he was willing to put the Pennsylvania charges on hold while New York authorities prosecute Mangione for the Dec. 4 killing of UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson. Mangione faces charges of murder as an act of terrorism in New York.

During the hearing, Mangione was asked if he understood what he was doing by waiving extradition, to which he answered, "yes." He then signed the paperwork agreeing to his transfer to New York custody.

Twelve NYPD officers were in court sitting in the front row of the hearing.

Mangione was then taken by a fixed-wing aircraft to McArthur Airport on Long Island and from there is expected to be brought to New York City for the appearance in front of a federal magistrate.

Weeks said he would not talk about what might happen at the Thursday hearings or if evidence will be presented. Mangione is accused of giving police a fake New Jersey identification and having a gun and silencer in his bag.

“Those are decisions that rest exclusively with Mr. Mangione and the rights afforded to him,” Weeks wrote in a news release sent out Tuesday.

In a court filing last week, Mangione defense attorney Tom Dickey argued prosecutors hadn't shown there's sufficient evidence to hold Mangione, that he was in New York when Thompson was killed or that he is a fugitive from justice.

Mangione, 26, of Towson, Maryland, was arrested on Dec. 9 when police were called to a McDonald's restaurant on a commercial strip in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after he was reported to match the description of Thompson's killer.

Thompson was gunned down on the street as he walked to the hotel where his Minnesota-based company was holding an investor conference. The shooting was captured on security video, but the suspect eluded police before Mangione was captured about 277 miles (446 kilometers) west of New York.

Authorities say Mangione was carrying the gun used to kill Thompson, a passport, a fake ID and about $10,000 in U.S. and foreign currency. His lawyer, Dickey, has questioned the evidence for the forgery charge and the legal basis for a gun charge. He had previously indicated Mangione would fight extradition to New York while being held in a Pennsylvania state prison.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she was prepared to file a governor's warrant to order Mangione brought to New York in cooperation with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro if Mangione did not waive his extradition.

As of now, the Manhattan District Attorney's charges against Luigi Mangione would have priority, and any possible future federal charge or charges would be second in prosecution order.

Mangione, an Ivy League computer science graduate from a prominent family, was carrying a handwritten letter that called health insurance companies “parasitic” and complained about corporate greed, according to a law enforcement bulletin obtained by The Associated Press last week.