Luigi Mangione pleaded not guily to a federal judge on Friday, denying his involvement in the Manhattan killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Mangione, a 26 year old Ivy League graduate from Maryland, could be charged with capital punishment if convicted of the violent crime.
Attorney General Pam Bondi encouraged the acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Matthew Podolsky to seek the death penalty for Mangione, which marks the end of a 17 year pause on federal executions.
Bondi has said officials will consider Thompson’s killing as “an act of political violence.”
Some believe the healthcare CEO, who was killed in December, was targeted over a disdain for the insurance claims process.
Gun shell casings left at the scene had the words, “delay,” “depose” and “deny” etched on to the bullets. The adage is typically used to describe the method insurers use to refute claims. Mangione was found with a ghost gun at the time of his arrest.
Thompson was shot while leaving a hotel in Midtown New York for a conference. The Iowa native was a father of two.
People close to Mangione described him as a loner. One friend said he previously expressed “frustrations” with the U.S. healthcare system.
UnitedHealthcare is the largest insurance provider in the country.
The case captured global attention after a five-day police chase, which ended in Mangione’s arrest in Pennsylvania.
The high-profile case is being litigated by former prosecutor Karen Friedman Agnifilo, who has asked the judge not to seek the death penalty for her client. She claims Bondi’s public comments pushing the punishment violate Mangione’s right to a fair trial.