12/17/24 National Public Radio:
NEW YORK — The man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare's CEO has been charged with murder as an act of terrorism, prosecutors said Tuesday as they worked to bring him to a New York court from from a Pennsylvania jail.
Luigi Mangione already was charged with murder in the Dec. 4 killing of Brian Thompson, but the terror allegation is new.
Under New York law, such a charge can be brought when an alleged crime is "intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policies of a unit of government by intimidation or coercion and affect the conduct of a unit of government by murder, assassination or kidnapping."
Insurance companies are not governments. Intimidating insurance companies or their CEOs are not "a civilian population" unless there are a lot more insurance company CEOs than I think. It is already bad enough that he is becoming a hero to the left. Charging him as a terrorist will just make him more popular with the blue-haired, heavily pierced and tattooed crowd.
Apparently, to charge 1st degree murder in New York State, there has to be some sort of enhancement, and the prosecutor choose "terrorism". I'm not sure why premeditation and lying in wait weren't enough - are those no longer sufficient in NYS?
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