HOLLIDAYSBURG, United States (AFP) — The man accused of gunning down a US insurance executive was transferred to New York on Thursday to face murder charges, two weeks after the killing unleashed a wave of public anger over the country’s health system.

After initially fighting the extradition, Luigi Mangione, 26, appeared in court in the Pennsylvania town of Hollidaysburg and agreed to be sent to New York, where the killing took place.

Among the charges facing the Ivy League graduate in New York is one count of murder in the second degree as “an act of terrorism.”

Highlighting the intense media attention the case has garnered, multiple television networks covered his trip from Pennsylvania to New York live.

Dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit and appearing calm, Mangione left the courthouse in a black SUV, escorted by several police vehicles.

After being flown by plane to an airport outside New York City, he boarded a helicopter to Manhattan, where television footage showed over a dozen officers, some in tactical gear, waiting to retrieve him.

Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9, five days after UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson was shot dead on a Manhattan street.

Thompson’s murder brought into focus widespread public anger against the US health care system and many social media users have since lionized Mangione.

– Health debate –
Mangione made two brief court appearances in Pennsylvania Thursday, according to US media. He waived a preliminary hearing on firearms and forgery charges and then agreed to be sent back to New York.

Outside the courthouse several protesters rallied in Mangione’s defense, holding posters that read “Free Luigi” and “Health insurance practices terrorize people!”

Police say a “life-changing, life-altering” back injury may have motivated Mangione, although they added that there was “no indication” that he was ever a client of UnitedHealthcare.

Mangione was arrested following a tip from staff at the McDonald’s, where he was found wearing a mask and a beanie while using a laptop, and gave officers a fake ID, charging documents show.

When he was arrested, Mangione had a three-page handwritten text criticizing the US health care system. As officers led him away, he shouted about an “insult to the American people.”

Police have said that Mangione’s fingerprints matched those found near the crime scene, and that shell casings match the gun found on him when he was arrested.

Reports that the casings of the bullets allegedly fired by Mangione had the words “depose, deny, delay” inscribed on them prompted horror stories on social media about health insurers who use those very tactics to get out of paying for medical tests or cancer treatment.

Such fights with sick and ailing consumers are only one of the gripes many have with a health system that has also been criticized for mystery billing practices, opaque middlemen, confusing jargon and costly drugs.