Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty in Brian Thompson murder case

Luigi Mangione, accused of gunning down an insurance executive in cold blood in a slaying that has divided Americans, pleaded not guilty to murder charges Friday, after he was arraigned in court. Mangione has now been charged in both New York state and federal court over the killing of UnitedHealthcareUnitedHealthcareUnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He pleaded guilty to the federal charges in a Manhattan court on Friday.

The case has stirred debate about political violence and the state of the healthcare system in the United States, and is the first case in which the Justice Department is seeking the death penalty since Donald Trump returned to the White House.

Mangione wore beige prison scrubs and conferred with his lawyers, an AFP correspondent saw.

Outside court, a van fitted with a video screen accused the Justice Department of "barbaric" conduct alongside an image of Mangione in court.