JUST IN: Charges Dropped Against CEO Shooter Luigi Mangione

State charges of terrorism have been dropped against Luigi Mangione, the suspect behind last year’s shooting of a healthcare CEO that captivated the nation during a four-day manhunt through Manhattan.

Mangione walked into Manhattan Criminal Court shortly after 9:30 a.m., shackled and wearing a tan prison jumpsuit. He listened as a judge considered the government’s charges while members of the media packed the courtroom and supporters stood outside, chanting and holding signs.

The 27-year-old faces state and federal charges related to the assassination of Brian Thompson, the late CEO of United Healthcare, husband, and father of two, last December outside a Manhattan hotel. Police conducted a sweeping search of the area and locked down parts of the city as they raced to review security footage showing the suspect escaping the early morning scene on an electric scooter.

Mangione was later arrested when patrons at a McDonald’s reported seeing him sitting inside with a backpack containing a letter explaining his reasoning for killing Thompson.

Prosecutors had charged Mangione with 11 state and federal counts including murder and terrorism, with federal charges carrying the possibility of the death penalty.

Judge Gregory Carro has delivered the defense a mixed bag, denying attorneys’ argument of double jeopardy with state and federal charges while also agreeing to drop two terrorism charges, arguing they don’t apply. Prosecutors alleged that Mangione attempted to terrorize the public when he “violently broadcast a social and political message to the public at large.”

Both charges — murder in the first degree in furtherance of an act of terrorism and murder in the second degree as a crime of terrorism — don’t apply, Judge Carro ruled Tuesday.

“There was no evidence presented of a desire to terrorize the public, inspire widespread fear, engage in a broader campaign of violence, or to conspire with organized terrorist groups,” Carro wrote. “Here, the crime – the heinous, but targeted and discrete killing of one person — is very different from the examples of terrorism set forth in the statute.”

Mangione will still face second-degree murder and eight weapons charges that carry a total sentence of 25 years to life, CBS News reported. He has pleaded not guilty.

“We respect the Court’s decision and will proceed on the remaining nine counts, including Murder in the Second Degree,” the Manhattan District Attorney’s office said in a statement after the ruling.

The defense is also seeking to suppress evidence from Mangione’s backpack. In addition to a notebook, arresting officers also found a gun that prosecutors say was used in the killing of Thompson. Mangione’s attorneys allege the evidence was unlawfully obtained without a search warrant.