Luigi Mangione’s lawyers are seeking to have federal charges in the CEO’s murder dropped

Lawyers for Luigi Mangione On Saturday, she asked a federal judge in Manhattan to dismiss several federal charges, including the only charge that could result in the death penalty.

In court filings reviewed by Fox News Digital, the defense said prosecutors stretched federal laws beyond their goal and engaged in overreach intended to provoke the killing. They also said the case should be tried in state court, not federal court.

His lawyers also said prosecutors should be barred from using his statements to law enforcement officers at trial, arguing that Mangione was not read his Miranda rights at the McDonald’s before questioning him. They argued that anything he said after that should not have been accepted.

MANGIONE DEFENSE Claims His ‘Beautiful and Promising Life Was Derailed’ in UNITEDHEALTHCARE CEO Murder Case

They also argue that police searched his backpack, where a gun and ammunition were found, without a warrant after his arrest, violating Fourth Amendment protections against unlawful searches.

The newspapers argued that the death penalty charge should be dropped because prosecutors failed to identify other crimes that might be needed to convict him, writing that the other alleged crime — stalking — was not a crime of violence.

Murder cases are typically tried in state courts, but prosecutors also charged Mangione under a federal law for murders committed with firearms as part of other “crimes of violence.” It’s the only charge for which Mangione could face the death penalty, since it’s not used New York state.

Mangione supporters push ‘jury nullification’ as UnitedHealthcare CEO assassination trial approaches

Mangione is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Dec. 4 outside a Manhattan hotel where the insurance company was hosting an investor conference. The execution-style killing was captured on camera, with prosecutors alleging Mangione targeted Thompson over financial and corporate disputes.

Mangione fled the scene but was arrested days later.

the Assassination Its repercussions have captured the American imagination, unleashing a cascade of online resentment and vitriol toward American health insurance companies, while also raising corporate executives’ concerns about security.

Mangione has already pleaded not guilty. His lawyers said the government’s case rests heavily on circumstantial evidence and procedural irregularities, rather than evidence of intent or organized criminal activity.

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Last month, Mangione’s lawyers asked for the federal charges against him to be dismissed and the death penalty to be overturned as a result of public comments by District Attorney Pam Bondi. In April, Bundy directed New York prosecutors to seek the death penalty, calling Thompson’s killing “a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.”

Mangione is represented by Karen Friedman Agnifilo, A High-ranking defense attorney in New York He is also a former Manhattan prosecutor and former CNN legal analyst.

Judge Miriam Goldberg of the Southern District of New York has scheduled oral arguments for December 5.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.