Luigi Mangione scored a major legal victory on Tuesday with a judge dismissing the two top state charges against him: first-degree murder and second-degree murder, both of which prosecutors had argued were terrorism crimes.<\/p>\n
Mangione still faces an additional second-degree murder charge, as well as a federal murder charge, in the killing of United HealthCare executive Brian Thompson<\/a> last December.<\/p>\n The judge overseeing Mangione\u2019s state criminal case, Gregory Carro, laid out his ruling in a written decision that was posted<\/a> during a 15-minute proceeding in Manhattan court on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cCounts 1 and 2, charging defendant with Murder in the First Degree (in furtherance of an act of terrorism) and Murder in the Second Degree as a Crime of Terrorism, are dismissed as legally insufficient,\u201d Carro wrote. \u201cThe People presented legally sufficient evidence of all other counts, including Murder in the Second Degree (intentional).\u201d<\/p>\n Mangione also faces federal charges<\/a> for allegedly gunning down Thompson outside a hotel, and weapons possession counts.<\/p>\n He entered the Manhattan courtroom just before 9.30am, wearing khaki jail scrubs, with handcuffed wrists and shackled ankles. His appearance came six days after the rightwing commentator Charlie Kirk<\/a> was shot dead during an event at Utah Valley University. The shootings of Thompson and Kirk prompted highly politicized rhetoric.<\/p>\n Although a motive in Kirk\u2019s shooting remains unknown, conservatives have used the incident to call for the investigation of progressive political groups. Donald Trump<\/a> has called for the death penalty against the suspected Kirk shooter, Tyler Robinson, and his justice department is seeking the death penalty for Mangione.<\/p>\n The US attorney general, Pam Bondi, called Thompson\u2019s killing \u201ca premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America\u201d. Bondi said her decision was in step with \u201cTrump\u2019s agenda to stop violent crime and make America safe again\u201d.<\/p>\n