A judge has set a New York state trial date of 8 June for Luigi Mangione, the suspect accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a busy Manhattan street in 2024.
After New York Judge Gregory Carro announced the date in court on Friday, Mangione’s defense team objected passionately, arguing Mangione’s federal trial – set for September – should go before the state case because of double jeopardy issues.
Magione himself weighed in on the matter, too.
As he was being taken away from the courtroom by police officers in his tan jumpsuit and handcuffs, he yelled to the court: “It’s the same trial twice. One plus one equals two. Double jeopardy by any common sense judgment.”
The hearing came a week after a federal judge set the September date for Mangione’s trial and dropped charges against him that carried a death penalty punishment.
The brief state hearing on Friday was tense as Mangione’s lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, attempted to plead her case for the judge to postpone the trial date.
Judge Carro said the federal government had “reneged” on an agreement for the state trial to go first, but he argued that should still be the case, and that it shouldn’t take long because some of the charges – terrorism counts – against Mangione had been dropped.
“This case got simpler,” he said.
But Agnifilo was not convinced.
“The defense will absolutley not be ready on June 8, and it is absolutely unfair,” she said, arguing Mangione had been put in an “untenable” situation with two trials so close together.
But Judge Carro frequently interrupted Agnifilo as she spoke, emphasizing the date he had just set: “June 8.”
“That’s enough. I don’t need to hear any more about it,” the judge told Agnifilo.