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Luigi Mangione Transported to New York. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired December 19, 2024 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[13:00:02]

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: That he is being greeted by a lot of federal law enforcement, New York law enforcement, and so we expect him to exit that helicopter momentarily and head into the courthouse.

Don't go anymore -- don't go anywhere, because we, of course, will continue this coverage.

Thank you for joining INSIDE POLITICS today.

"CNN NEWS CENTRAL" will pick it up right now.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We start with breaking news this afternoon. Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Boris Sanchez, alongside Brianna Keilar, in our nation's capital.

Suspected CEO killer Luigi Mangione is now in New York. Here is his arrival just a short time ago, as he now heads directly to Manhattan, where he is expected in federal court soon to face new charges alleging that he shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in the back, killing the father of two on a city sidewalk on December 4.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Mangione has already been indicted in New York on first- and second-degree murder charges. And now a newly unsealed complaint shows four federal charges, including murder.

This morning, Mangione waived extradition and an NYPD plane flew him from Pennsylvania, where he had been arrested, to New York. The 26- year-old former engineer is set to appear before a federal judge in the next hour.

And we have CNN's Kara Scannell outside the court on this story. We have CNN's Brynn Gingras tracking Mangione's movements there in New York.

Brynn, tell us where he is now.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, guys,so we're keeping our eyes to the sky at this very moment here at the Wall Street Heliport, which is in Lower Manhattan.

You can see from Rod Griola's video that there is just a number of law enforcement at the edge of this pier getting ready for the arrival. Now, there is an NYPD helicopter that is about to land just now. I'm trying to see if that's possibly him and see if there's any movement from, again, all of that law enforcement that is here on the ground.

I can tell you this is quite a scene. I have never seen this many officials here for the arrival of a defendant in a case. There are members from the NYPD. There are members that are in full tactical gear with long guns. There are members from the FBI, the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

There are members of the harbor unit, two boats that are in the water. There are NYPD helicopters. There are motorcycles from the NYPD, so quite a turnout from all members of law enforcement at different levels at this point.

We know that, once Mangione does land here by helicopter, which we, again, are expecting any moment -- and I am starting to see a number of people move around. That might have been his chopper. We do expect him to make that walk from the end of the pier up.

I think that actually will be him, if you guys are seeing that, Rod Griola shooting this for us. Once he gets out of that helicopter, we expect him to make the walk down the side of this building into a Sprinter van that is waiting for him that is led by two black SUVs and make his way to the federal building, where he is going to be facing those federal charges.

I am just trying to get a look for myself, guys, if that is him. It appears to be, since, again, all this law enforcement is all starting to move and circle around that NYPD helicopter that just landed here at the heliport.

SANCHEZ: Yes, Brynn, let's watch alongside you as we see this large law enforcement presence and the rotors on that helicopter begin to slow down. You can kind of see from a window what appears to be an orange jumpsuit, though it is still unclear at this point.

We are going to be watching this closely to see what we believe is Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old suspect in this high-profile murder investigation emerge from this helicopter.

Obviously, this is a key moment in this case, given that Mangione was caught more than a week ago in Pennsylvania at a McDonald's in Altoona some several hundred miles away from Manhattan, where the alleged act took place, Mangione found with a number of key pieces of evidence on him including, a ghost gun believed to be used in the murder of Brian Thompson, as well as this three-page handwritten statement describing his intent and his desire to go after someone at the top of the health insurance industry, which he has argued was a scam and carried out injustice against the American people.

KEILAR: That's right. And he had spent days waiving extradition in Pennsylvania -- or -- pardon me -- fighting it, then decided to waive it after getting new counsel.

And here we see NYPD getting out of this chopper. As you mentioned, you could see -- and there he is, Luigi Mangione, the suspected murderer of Brian Thompson, formerly the UnitedHealthcare CEO, who was gunned down brazenly in the middle of Manhattan. [13:05:09]

A huge police presence there on the pier, as he is arriving in New York City to face charges here, face charges there in New York, also facing a federal indictment as well.

SANCHEZ: Yes, four federal counts against Mangione, a count of federal murder through use of a firearm, a firearms offense as well for using a silencer and muffler in the alleged murder, as well as two stalking charges as well.

His newly retained attorney, Karen Agnifilo, suggested that federal charges in this case would be overkill. I just want to note you see New York City Mayor Eric Adams not far behind Mangione there, again, a very large law enforcement presence.

This was an incident that sparked worldwide attention, as Mangione was able to get away soon after the murder, clearly in what was a calculated move, as well as investigators finding key details in the search for him, that book bag in Central Park full of Monopoly money one interesting detail.

I believe Brynn Gingras is still there on the scene for us.

Brynn, some of what you were saying candidly was hard to hear over the rotors of the helicopter. Talk to us about what you're seeing now and just the scale of the law enforcement presence there.

GINGRAS: Yes, like I said, it's -- I have never seen anything like this, Boris, to be quite honest with you.

There are just law enforcement from so many levels here, and it's very clear, as you just saw that walk from the helicopter all the way down that pier to that Sprinter van, which he just got into, while he's shackled, they clearly want the photo opportunity to show what they believe, they got their guy.

I mean, that's what it really feels like because that was like a long perp walk, as we would call it in the news industry. And now we're told, in that Sprinter van, he will travel to a federal building, where he will be federally processed.

I also want to sort of just paint a scene for you guys out here, because we are in a sort of the height of a tourist area of New York City. And the amount of tourists that are here taking videos of this moment, in addition to news media and others, is incredible.

I mean, everyone is just out here to watch what we just witnessed there on television and everyone asking who's this guy and then extremely interested once we tell them who law enforcement is bringing into custody here.

Now that he's in that van, people are starting to leave, but you could probably see, Rod, right, you could see the two Sprinter -- you see the Sprinter van that's starting to now leave. We know that there's a number of NYPD motorcycles as well parked here. I'm not sure if they will be leading their way as an escort to that

federal building, which is really not too far from where we are, maybe a 10-minute drive if you count New York City traffic, but certainly now he is on his way to that federal building.

KEILAR: And also, Brynn, you could see there the security, NYPD, members of the NYPD who had long guns. There's a lot of concern about the attention that this is getting, and that was really something to see.

GINGRAS: Yes, there is a lot of concern, certainly. And it's also interesting, I just want to point out, there's also tour -- this is a private helicopter area. There are tourists that landed while that was happening. So now they're allowed to get off their helicopters and actually leave the area.

I mean, that's where everything just went to a standstill, obviously, when he landed in his helicopter. But, yes, it was a quite law enforcement present. But as you even just mentioned, Boris, the mayor was here, the police commissioner. Sort of everyone wanted that photo up of Luigi Mangione back here in New York and ready to face the charges of a person that led them on a several-day manhunt and that eventually was caught in Altoona, Pennsylvania, up and now here back in New York.

SANCHEZ: Brynn, please keep us posted on what you hear about his movements, as Luigi Mangione now heads to Manhattan.

We want to go to Kara Scannell, who is now where Mangione is going to be in just moments.

Kara, tell us about these new federal charges.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris, that's right.

I mean, as Brynn was saying, Mangione is now being transported to a federal building, where he will be taken into federal custody and arrested on these four criminal charges that were unsealed today. They include two charges of stalking, and that is Mangione's alleged travel to New York City to shoot and murder the UnitedHealthcare CEO, and another charge of stalking that relates to his use of the Internet, his use of cell phones and his interstate wires, his traveling on the highway to get here.

He's also facing a federal murder charge and a firearms charge. Now, once he gets to this federal building, he will be processed. That is not expected to take too long because of how orchestrated and planned this is. Then he will be transported by federal officials to the courthouse just behind me, where he will have his first presentment.

[13:10:05]

His attorney is arriving right now. That's Karen Friedman Agnifilo. She has given a statement saying that he will fight these charges and calling it a pile-on.

Karen, do you have any comment on these charges today?

KAREN FRIEDMAN AGNIFILO, ATTORNEY FOR LUIGI MANGIONE: Not at this time. Thank you so much.

SCANNELL: So, Karen is walking into court along with her husband, who is also defending Mangione alongside her.

He is also representing Sean "Diddy" Combs in the sex trafficking case. So he is on both of these cases now. But -- so once Mangione is transported here, he will go into the courthouse. He will have his first appearance before a magistrate judge. We expect that to happen around 2:00 p.m. Eastern time.

And then he will remain in federal custody. He's not expected to get bail. So those images that we just saw of him leaving the helicopter may be the last ones that we see of him for quite a while -- guys.

KEILAR: And, Kara, we heard Alvin Bragg saying that these cases will proceed in parallel. So just talk a little bit about that.

I mean, as we see this flurry of actual activity happening, the legal activity is going to be incredible.

SCANNELL: It is, Brianna.

I mean, we started this day thinking that Mangione was going to appear a few blocks from where I am in state court to face that 11-count indictment, including a murder in the first degree. When these federal charges became unsealed, that is when the action shifted over to federal court, and this is now playing out first.

It appears, although there is still a lot that is being worked out behind the scenes, but it appears as though this federal case may take precedence. But the district attorney for Manhattan, Alvin Bragg, has issued a statement in which he has said that the state case will proceed in parallel with any federal case.

The mechanics of how that is going to work, again, though, still remains unclear. It is unclear if Mangione will go into state court at all today to be arraigned on those state charges. For now, the precedence are these federal charges, remember those four counts, two counts of stalking, one count of murder and a firearms offense.

He is -- once all -- he gets through the system, he will be appearing here, driven over by fed officials. We will not see him walk in this building. He will enter through the garage and then head straight to the courtroom, where we expect there to be a heavy marshals presence while he is arraigned before the magistrate judge in just less than an hour from now -- guys.

SANCHEZ: And Kara Scannell live for us from New York, thank you so much for that update.

Let's discuss with CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller and CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig.

Elie, let's go deeper into exactly what we're going to watch unfold today. What are you expecting will come from this hearing?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Boris, first of all, we are not going to be able to watch anything because there are no cameras allowed in federal court, but we will, of course, have our reporters in there reporting back to us.

Here's what will happen. So it's important to understand, Luigi Mangione has not been indicted yet. That's the next step. This is sort of pre-indictment. This is what's called a complaint. It's a way that prosecutors can draft up a document, bring it to a judge, who signs off, and that enables you to arrest the defendant, as we have seen happen here.

So, today, Luigi Mangione will go into what we call magistrates court, where a federal judge called a magistrate appointed through a different process, but a magistrate will essentially advise Luigi Mangione of the charges against him, will likely ask for a plea. It will be obviously a not guilty plea at this point.

The judge will make sure that Mangione understands the charges against him, that Mangione has an attorney. We just saw his attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, walk into the courthouse, and then we will address the issue of bail.

There is a 0.00 percent chance that Luigi Mangione gets bail on this case. He will be locked up pending prison. And then, after today, of course, there has to still be a separate arraignment across the street in the state court, but the next step in federal court will be for prosecutors to go and get an indictment from a grand jury.

That will likely play out over the next couple of weeks. So, for today, it's an arraignment. He will be advised of his basic rights. They will make sure he has a lawyer, and they will officially rule that he's not going to get bail.

KEILAR: And, John, I want to talk about what we just saw here, which is really quite stunning. And there's a moment coming up here where you're going to see the photographer get in front of Luigi Mangione and essentially block the view of cameras and is quickly swatted away by a police officer with a long gun, so that -- I don't know.

You can explain why. Is it so that we can see him? Is that just the protocol? What do you make of this spectacle that we have just witnessed?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, I think there's a couple of things going on here, and they're all relatively unique and really interesting.

So what you're seeing here is Mangione being escorted by a combination of New York City police detectives and federal officials coming off the NYPD helicopter with, in the background, the emergency service unit. Those are the officers with the long guns.

[13:15:11] The cops with the motorcycles outside, they're from the Highway Patrol Division. Why is this happening this way? We often see when someone accused of a particularly heinous crime, say, against a child, that they have that person in a bulletproof vest and that they whisk them away because they are worried that somebody may attack them of, some member of the public, some aggrieved family member.

In this case, it's upside down. The security around Mangione today is because of what they have been seeing in terms of the public support for him and their security worries about somebody not trying to attack him, but to try and free him from law enforcement, which is why he's not being brought in a couple of FBI cars or police cars, but basically in a secure motorcade with motorcycle outriders to run ahead, block the traffic.

He will be brought into a frozen zone by NYPD headquarters in the federal courthouse, where other traffic is not allowed, and then delivered to this location, all of that because they feel that their defendant has this unusual popular support among like-minded individuals.

So that's what you're seeing unfold there at the same heliport where the president of the United States typically arrives and steps in a motorcade, this for a very different kind of character.

SANCHEZ: Yes, a stunning display on multiple fronts.

John and Elie, please stand by.

We're going to sneak in a quick break. Stay with CNN NEWS CENTRAL as we continue to follow this breaking news, Luigi Mangione set to be arraigned on federal charges in Manhattan.

Stay with us.

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[13:21:19]

KEILAR: And we are following our breaking news, Luigi Mangione arriving just moments ago in New York. That is what you were seeing there on the right side of your screen. This was minutes ago.

He landed there at that helipad on a pier in Manhattan, and now he is on his way to this scene on the left, the federal courthouse, where he is going to be arraigned on four charges, murder through use of a firearm, two counts of talking, and firearms offense.

SANCHEZ: Let's bring our panel back in, CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller and CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig.

Elie, I do wonder about how this state case will run in parallel, as DA Alvin Bragg put it, with the federal case. How's that going to work?

HONIG: Well, that's exactly the right way to describe it, in parallel.

They will be proceeding through the pretrial processes more or less at the same time frame. But, of course, I think the big question is, which one gets tried first? And the answer is, we do not know. That will depend to some extent on the court calendars and how they shake out. That will depend to some extent on negotiation sometimes between the DA, who heads the state-level office, and the U.S. attorney, who heads the federal office.

Those are the charges that we're seeing addressed now. Often, the DA will get on the phone with the U.S. attorney and they will work out an agreement. Who's going to go to trial first? Who's going to go second? Will we work together? Will we work separately?

But there is no hard-and-fast rule here. We have seen plenty of examples over the years where federal cases have gone first. We have seen other high-profile examples where state charges have gone first. So that's going to be the result of both the natural in-court calendars, but also careful consideration between the relevant prosecuting offices.

KEILAR: So, we know, according, Elie, to his lawyer -- and I do want to note that this is something that Karen Friedman Agnifilo said when it was just initially being reported that there would be federal charges, before we saw what the indictment was, that this was a risk of double jeopardy.

And I wonder what your assessment is of that.

HONIG: I'm sure that Karen will make a double jeopardy motion. Any good lawyer would do that. She has very little chance to win here, because this exact circumstance went up to the Supreme Court in 2019. And the Supreme Court ruled that it is OK,it does not violate double jeopardy principles to have the same person charged by the feds and the state separately.

The rationale there is, these are separate governmental entities, and, in this case, the nature of the charges are different in technical respects. Yes, they both -- both sets of charges boiled down to the fact that Luigi Mangione shot Brian Thompson on that street in Manhattan, but the charges are phrased and structured in different ways.

So I don't think there's much chance of a double jeopardy motion succeeding here, but certainly within the defendant's right to make that motion.

SANCHEZ: And, John, one of the reasons that was speculated as to why Mangione's attorneys initially had him fight extradition when he was in Pennsylvania had to do with where he was staying, and this state prison in Pennsylvania being quite different than Rikers Island.

Talk to us a little bit about where Mangione is headed, likely headed after his arraignment.

MILLER: Well, after his arraignment in front of a federal magistrate, it is likely he will be taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center, the MDC, the very same prison where P. Diddy is awaiting trial on his charges and other defendants.

The regular place he would have gone, which is literally attached by tunnels to the courthouse, is the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, but that is still in the throes of a fairly significant renovation. So he's going to end up in the federal lockup in Brooklyn, which has its own troubled reputation as a converted facility that's had all kinds of problems with heat and other issues.

[13:25:21]

But that is the place that federal defendants are housed right now. As Elie was saying, though, what we're seeing unfold here is really interesting. This was a Manhattan district attorney's state homicide case, an NYPD arrest in Pennsylvania.

And then you have the federal government come in literally overnight, unsealing a federal complaint. You have a New York state judge.

KEILAR: All right, I think...

MILLER: Sorry.

KEILAR: ... John, we are losing a little -- it's OK. We're losing a little bit of your audio. It's cutting in and out.

So we're going to address that, as, actually, we're going to get a quick break in, because, right now, we understand that Luigi Mangione is in between having just landed in Manhattan and there, where there's heightened security at the federal courthouse, including a very cute canine.

But we're going to get in a quick break. Keep an eye on this, because he is expected to arrive at the federal courthouse any moment. We're going to wait and see what we can see as he arrives.

We will be right back.

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