The attorney for Luigi Mangione , the man accused of fatally shooting the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, sharply criticized the “spectacle” surrounding her client in court on Monday, calling his extradition from Pennsylvania to New York City the “biggest staged perp walk I’ve ever seen in my career.”
During Mangione’s arraignment at a lower Manhattan courthouse, the alleged killer entered a not guilty plea on the 11 state charges stemming from the Dec. 4 shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson.
At the hearing, Mangione’s lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, expressed concern about her client’s ability to receive a fair trial given the immense attention he is facing from both the public and New York City officials.
Pointing to the highly publicized scene at Mangione’s transfer from Pennsylvania to New York last Thursday , Friedman Agnifilo accused public servants and members of law enforcement of using Mangione as “political fodder.”
“He was on display for everyone to see in the biggest staged perp walk I’ve ever seen in my career,” she told Judge Gregory Carro. “It was absolutely unnecessary.”