Luigi Mangione’s defense has filed a motion to dismiss most of the state charges against him related to the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Mangione’s attorney, asked the state court to dismiss second-degree murder and weapons charges against her client, according to the filing. That represents seven of the eight state charges, and the surviving charge is possession of an allegedly fraudulent identification card “which occurred at a different date and location than the conduct of the remaining charges,” the motion says. The others should be dismissed because Mangione pleaded guilty today in federal court to charges related to Thompson’s death, the filing argues, maintaining that “dual prosecutions arising from the same event” violated Mangione’s rights. The motion alleges that the New York County District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Department of Justice inadequately coordinated their efforts to ensure that the state case went to trial before the federal case to “avoid double jeopardy protections.” Federal and state prosecutors “have sensationalized this case and misapplied the statutes in an effort to overcharge him,” the motion alleges. “Explicitly coordinating and planning the order of prosecution against Mr. Mangione to maximize his punishment and increase each government’s chances of convicting him,” the motion says. A spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said it is “prepared to litigate defense motions.” Mangione pleaded guilty to federal stalking charges in Thompson’s murder, ahead of the state case that goes to trial on September 8. This post has been updated with additional information from the motion.
