Luigi Mangione's alleged diary included plans to kill Brian Thompson: 'I finally feel confident'
Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty: What's next?
The 26-year-old stood with his lawyers as he entered the plea, leaning forward toward a microphone as U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett asked him if he understood the indictment and the charges against him. Mangione said, "yes." FOX 5 NY's Michelle Ross and Linda Schmidt have the latest.
NEW YORK CITY - Prosecutors say, to Luigi Mangione, Brian Thompson and UnitedHealthcare were symbols of the healthcare industry and what the 27-year-old considered a deadly greed-fueled cartel.
What's in the alleged diary?
What we know:
When Luigi Mangione was arrested by police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, last December, prosecutors say they recovered a red notebook he used as a diary among his possessions.
They say the diary includes several entries that explain Mangione's intent and motive to deliberately assassinate Thompson, the CEO of United Healthcare, the country's largest health insurance company.
‘I finally feel confident about what I will do’
The backstory:
Prosecutors say an entry in August 2024 reads: "I finally feel confident about what I will do. The details are coming together. And I don't feel any doubt about whether its right/justified." He goes on to write: "The target is insurance. It checks every box."
Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of a UnitedHealth Group Inc. chief executive officer Brian Thompson, center, arrives by helicopter from Pennsylvania in New York, US, on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. Mangione was extradited to New York to face m
Then, in October of last year, about a month and a half before Thompson was shot and killed outside the midtown Manhattan hotel where United Healthcare's annual investors conference was scheduled to be held, Mangione writes: "The investor conference is a true windfall. It embodies everything wrong with our health system, and - most importantly -- the message becomes self-evident."
'It's targeted, precise and doesn't risk innocents'
According to prosecutors, Mangione references Ted Kaczynski, saying the Unabomber made some good points, but he crossed the line from anarchist to terrorist by indiscriminately mail bombing innocent people.
Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealth Group Inc. chief executive officer Brian Thompson, arrives at New York State Supreme Court in New York, US, on Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. Mangione is appearing in state court for his arraignment
In his diary, prosecutors say Mangione writes: "...instead of carrying out a bombing, one should ‘wack’ the CEO at the annual parasitic bean counter convention. It's targeted, precise and doesn't risk innocents."
"The point is made in the news headline 'Insurance CEO killed at annual investors conference.'"
‘Overwhelming evidence of guilt’
What they're saying:
In the filing, prosecutors wrote, "If ever there were an open and shut case pointing to defendant's guilt, this case is that case. Simply put, one would be hard-pressed to find a case with such overwhelming evidence of guilt as to the identity of the murderer and the premeditated nature of the assassination."