Luigi Mangione fights extradition to New York

On Tuesday, Luigi Mangione, accused of murdering the CEO of UnitedHealthcare Brian Thompson, objected to being transferred to New York in a Pennsylvania court to face a murder charge, which will trigger a legal battle over his extradition.

During a court appearance in Blair County, Mangione's attorney, Thomas Dickey, told a Pennsylvania judge that his client would not waive his right to extradition proceedings.

Then, the lawyer for Mangione, who was shackled and wearing the famous orange jumpsuit, asked for bail for his client, who is formally charged with shooting Thompson last week in Manhattan.  He also faces a series of state charges in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested early Monday at a McDonald's in Altoona.

The judge, David Consiglio, sided with the prosecution and denied the bail request after a prosecutor warned that the suspect had eluded law enforcement for five days, had $8,000, a passport and was in possession of firearms when he was arrested.

"He has succeeded in evading detection by law enforcement," Blair County District Attorney Peter Weeks said during the hearing.

In the face of Mangione's refusal to waive his extradition rights, Judge Consiglio set a procedural schedule for determining transfer to New York that could take weeks to resolve.

As the events unfolded in Pennsylvania, the Manhattan district attorney's office, which had already charged Mangione with murder, announced that it would seek an order from the governor to secure the suspect's extradition to Manhattan.

According to the Wall Street Journal, although Mangione's action serves to stall extradition and get the defense organized to address the charges in New York, the reality is that for all practical purposes, it doesn't work for much else as the suspect will remain incarcerated in either state while awaiting a trial in which he has most of the facts stacked against him, according to legal experts.

"It bides him and his lawyers time to figure out what to do on the New York charges," Daniel Horwitz, a former Manhattan prosecutor now with the law firm Tannenbaum Helpern, told the WSJ. "It gives them time to assess, if they have a defense and if there are mental health issues, as opposed to rushing to New York to jump right into the case."

Mangione's case and Thompson's murder have garnered national attention in the past week, first for the brazen shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO and then for the search for the alleged shooter that lasted more than five days.

Once authorities revealed the suspect's identity, Mangione became an internet icon almost instantly. He went viral on various social media platforms and even raised thousands of dollars for his defense.

A manuscript reading some of Mangione's threats, including references to "corporate America" and a series of threats to the medical sector, was also revealed.

"These parasites had it coming," Thompson's alleged killer said, alluding to healthcare professionals.

He also left a sentence that could be considered an admission of guilt: "I do apologize for any strife and trauma, but it had to be done."