The judge overseeing the New York case against Luigi Mangione has thrown out the terrorism charges he faced.
The judge called the terrorism charges “legally insufficient,” CNN reported.
Mangione is accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December, The Associated Press reported.
His attorneys said terrorism in New York is defined as attacks on multiple people, not a single person, according to CNN.
“While the People place great emphasis on defendant’s ‘ideological’ motive, there is no indication in the statute that a murder committed for ideological reasons (in this case, the defendant’s apparent desire to draw attention to what he perceived as inequities or greed within the American health care system), fits within the definition of terrorism without establishing the necessary element of an intent to intimidate or coerce,” Judge Gregory Carro wrote in the decision.
They had asked the judge, if he did not throw out the state murder charges, to then drop the terrorism charges, the AP reported.
They also requested that prosecutors be prohibited from using evidence gathered during his arrest, including a 9mm handgun and a notebook where officials said Mangione wrote that he wanted to kill an insurance executive, the AP reported.
The defense said the search of his backpack was illegal since police did not have a warrant, ABC News reported.
This is the first time Mangione has been in court since February, ABC News reported.
Carro kept the second-degree murder charge filed against Mangione, the AP reported.
Mangione is also charged on the federal level with two counts of stalking, a firearms offence and murder through the use of a firearm. The final charge may carry the death penalty if he is convicted, ABC News reported.
He also faces charges in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where he was captured after being on the run for several days. He was charged in Blair County with forgery, possession of an instrument of a crime and giving false ID to an officer.
He has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges he is facing.
Check back for more on this developing story.