Prominent lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo has been engaged by Luigi Mangione for his defense concerning charges of murder in New York. The claims assert that UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, was the victim of the alleged crime. For a period of seven years, Friedman Agnifilo held the position of chief assistant district attorney within the District Attorney’s Office in Manhattan where she worked under Cyrus Vance Jr. Her professional experience also includes a tenure of four years helming the trial division of the aforementioned office.
After an extensive, multi-day search, law enforcement concluded their pursuit of the alleged shooter on Monday. Mangione, a 26-year-old member of a well-known Baltimore family, was apprehended in Altoona, Pennsylvania. His location was tracked to a local McDonald’s eatery, where he was discovered carrying a backpack. This particular item of interest purportedly carried potent evidence connecting Mangione to the shooting incident.
The charges registered against Mangione in the New York jurisdiction comprise one count of murder, along with three instances of criminal weapon possession and a single count of possession of a forged instrument. The legal proceedings expanded beyond the state lines as Mangione was arraigned in Pennsylvania as well. The charges in Pennsylvania comprised two forgery felonies, the crime of unauthorized firearm possession, and three misdemeanors relating to record or identification tampering, possession of criminal tools, and deceiving law enforcement officials by providing false identification.
Mangione is currently in custody, incarcerated independently in a cell within the Huntingdon State Correctional Institution. He has strongly resisted his extradition to New York. In the immediate aftermath of his arrest, several online fundraisers sprouted in support of Mangione’s cause. Specifically, three GoFundMe campaigns were launched as a response to these events.
Subsequent to their creation, the fundraisers were soon retracted from the GoFundMe platform. The official stance of GoFundMe clarified that the company would reimburse the donors that contributed towards these campaigns. The platform’s Terms of Service explicitly state its stance against allowing campaigns that fund the legal defenses for individuals accused of violent crimes.
Contrarily, another online crowdfunding platform continues to host a financial-support initiative for Mangione’s legal defense. This fundraising campaign, which has managed to accumulate monetary support exceeding $94,000 as of Saturday’s dawn, clarifies that it is not endorsing or celebrating bestial violence through its actions. Instead, it is rooted in the belief of the constitutional right that guarantees fair legal representation for all.
Thomas Dickey, a Pennsylvania-based attorney, represents Mangione. Dickey has vocally declared his doubt about the evidence connecting Mangione to the alleged act of violence. He has stated that he had not been privy to any tangible evidence implicating his client. Based on these circumstances, Dickey expressed that Mangione plans to plead not guilty to the charges leveled against him in both states.