Luigi Mangione ’s defense attorney Thomas Dickey weighed in on the 26-year-old’s outburst Tuesday ahead of his extradition hearing in Pennsylvania, claiming that he was “agitated” over going into court without legal representation in an interview with CNN Wednesday.
“He’s irritated. Agitated about what’s happening to him and what he’s being accused of,” Dickey told CNN’s Erin Burnett when probed if he would plead not guilty by way of insanity or another reason. “He never had any legal representation until he walked into that building yesterday.”
Dickey went on to explain that his client, the top suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson , began acting differently after his extradition hearing because he finally found “somebody that he can trust.”
“If you notice, look at the film, look at the difference between when he went in and when he came out,” Dickey said. “Once he got in, he finally had legal representation. I like to think he had somebody that he can trust and has faith in. Now he has a spokesperson and someone that’s going to fight for him.”