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A judge in New York City has officially dismissed the state terrorism charges against Luigi Mangione, the man accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Getting into it: Judge Gregory Carro threw out two of the most serious charges (first-degree murder in furtherance of an act of terrorism and second-degree murder as a crime of terrorism), ruling that prosecutors failed to show Mangione’s actions met the legal definition of terrorism under New York law. While prosecutors argued that Mangione intended to broadcast a political message, intimidate healthcare workers, and inspire broader fear, Carro found that the assassination was a targeted, isolated act against a single victim rather than an attempt to terrorize the public or influence government policy.

In his written decision, Carro stressed that although Mangione expressed animosity toward UnitedHealthcare and the health insurance industry, there was no evidence of a broader campaign of violence, intent to coerce a civilian population, or connection to terrorist groups. He noted that prosecutors’ claims risked “trivializing” the concept of terrorism, observing that the crime, “heinous, but targeted and discreet,” did not resemble the examples of terrorism envisioned by the statute.

Carro also pointed out that federal prosecutors, who are pursuing the death penalty, did not include terrorism counts in their case. Despite dismissing the terrorism charges, Carro upheld nine other state counts, including second-degree murder and eight weapons charges. If convicted on the murder count, Mangione faces a sentence of 25 years to life.

This comes after Mangione’s defense team had pushed for all state charges to be dropped, claiming the dual state and federal cases created a double jeopardy problem and unfairly jeopardized his rights.