A judge on Tuesday dropped two terrorism charges against Luigi Mangione in his state case in the killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, but he kept the second-degree murder charge against the accused assassin.

Mangione, 27, appeared in court in Manhattan on Tuesday, Sept. 16, in beige jail garb, handcuffs and shackles, as his lawyers pushed to have his state murder and terrorism charges dismissed. Judge Gregory Carro said he found the evidence presented to the grand jury to support the New York state terrorism charges to be “legally insufficient.”

In a written decision Carro said: “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.”

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has said that the killing was “a frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for Bragg’s office said, “We respect the Court’s decision and will proceed on the remaining nine counts, including murder in the second degree.”

Carro ruled that hearings on Mangione’s state charges will begin Dec. 1.

Mangione’s attorneys have argued that his New York case and his federal case are parallel prosecutions and amount to double jeopardy. He faces the death penalty if convicted in the federal case.

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Mangione has pleaded not guilty to both state and federal charges.

Tuesday’s hearing marked Mangione’s first court appearance since February. Mangione’s supporters gathered outside the courtroom Tuesday morning, as they have in the past. Some dressed up as the Luigi video game character.

His attorneys have also sought to bar prosecutors from using evidence collected during his December 2024 arrest in Altoona, Pa., including a handgun and a notebook in which authorities allege he described his intent to “wack” an insurance executive. And his attorneys had asked the judge to dismiss the terrorism charges if the state case goes forward.

Thompson was shot and killed on Dec. 4, 2024, outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel, where the company was gathering for an investor conference. Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting Thompson from behind as he arrived for the conference. Mangione was arrested five days later after he was spotted eating breakfast at a McDonald’s in Altoona.