Luigi Mangione Case: Moore Notes 'Broken' Health Care, Condemns 'Cold Blood' Attacks

TOWSON, MD — Speaking Wednesday about the arrest of Towson native Luigi Mangione, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said he understands frustrations with the health insurance industry, but he condemned violent retaliation.

Mangione, a 26-year-old who suffered debilitating back pain and needed surgery, is accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4.

Moore said he's seen firsthand why health care must be improved. FOX45 reported that Moore's father died of epiglottitis, a rare but treatable condition that affects breathing.

"Some of the earliest memories I have of my life was watching the healthcare system fail," Moore said, according to FOX45. "I was three years old when my dad died in front of me because he didn’t get the healthcare he needed. And so the brokenness of the healthcare system is something that I have lived with and something that still very much sits with me to this day, and working to fix it is something I still make a core part of my why and my ethos."

Moore was speaking at a press conference announcing the first Preakness Festival, a slate of events leading up to the 150th Preakness Stakes next May.

Though Moore admitted the health-care system needs improvement, he said violence is never the answer.

"I also know that the way we solve things is not by killing people in cold blood. The way we solve things is not killing people because we don’t like the industry they’re in or the company they represent," Moore said, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Mangione was denied bail Tuesday. He's being held in central Pennsylvania, where he was spotted and arrested on Monday. Mangione is fighting extradition back to New York, where he faces charges of second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon, possession of a forged document and criminal possession of a firearm.

Mangione was also charged with five crimes in Pennsylvania: firearms not to be carried without a license, forgery, tampering with records, false identification to law enforcement, and possessing an instrument of a crime. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 23, court records show.

Thomas Dickey, Mangione's attorney, said following Tuesday's hearing that Mangione will plead not guilty to the Pennsylvania charges and likely will plead not guilty to the New York charges.

"I'm glad the wheels of justice are now moving," Moore said, according to WJZ. "We need to have justice for what happened to Brian Thompson. I would ask people to remember that because of the actions of this person, there are two teenagers in Minnesota who are growing up like I did, fatherless. And we can never forget that."

Patch Field Editor Eric Heyl contributed reporting to this story.

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