New York state prosecutors announced on Tuesday that they were charging Luigi Mangione, the alleged killer of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, with murder "in furtherance of terrorism." The law that they are citing, which was passed a week after the attacks of September 11, 2001, increases penalties for violent crimes meant to "intimidate or coerce a civilian population," "influence the policy of a unit of government by intimidation or coercion," or "affect the conduct of a unit of government by murder, assassination or kidnapping."
Killing and kidnapping, of course, are already illegal. Thompson's murderer would have gone to prison for a very long time, with or without terrorism laws. A few decades ago, authorities had all the power they needed to investigate and prosecute violent crimes. But the wave of counterterrorism laws, which began in the 1990s and ramped up after 9/11, has allowed the government to create a new realm of special crimes.
