Judge has dismissed two murder charges related to acts of terrorism for Luigi Mangione

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A judge dismissed two murder charges related to acts of terrorism as Luigi Mangione, the accused killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, made his first Manhattan courtroom appearance in five months on Tuesday.

Judge Gregory Carro tossed out the most severe charge, first-degree murder, accusing Mangione of murder as a crime of terrorism.

The judge said the evidence presented to the grand jury was insufficient to support the terrorism charge.

“While the defendant was clearly expressing an animus toward UHC, and the health care industry generally, it does not follow that his goal was to ‘intimidate and coerce a civilian population,’ and indeed, there was no evidence presented of such a goal,” the judge wrote in a decision issued on Tuesday morning.

Prosecutors argued Mangione’s actions intimidated or coerced employees of UnitedHealthcare, but Carro rejected the argument those fears are enough to justify a terrorism charge.

Carro also tossed a second-degree murder charge, related to killing as an act of terrorism.

The rest of the indictment remains, with the judge refusing to dismiss another second-degree murder charge, to which the accused killer has pleaded not guilty.

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