NEW YORK >> The man accused of fatally shooting the CEO of UnitedHealthcare pleaded not guilty on Monday to state murder and terror charges while his attorney complained that comments coming from New York’s mayor would make it tough to receive a fair trial.

Luigi Mangione, 26, was shackled and seated in a Manhattan court when he leaned over to a microphone to enter his plea. The Manhattan district attorney charged him last week with multiple counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism.

Mangione’s initial appearance in New York’s state trial court was preempted by federal prosecutors bringing their own charges over the shooting. The federal charges could carry the possibility of the death penalty, while the maximum sentence for the state charges is life in prison without parole.

Prosecutors have said the two cases will proceed on parallel tracks, with the state charges expected to go to trial first.

One of Mangione’s attorneys told a judge that government officials, including New York Mayor Eric Adams, have turned Mangione into a political pawn, robbing him of his rights as a defendant and tainting the jury pool.

“I am very concerned about my client’s right to a fair trial,” Karen Friedman Agnifilo said.

Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch stood among a throng of heavily armed officers Thursday when Mangione was flown to a Manhattan heliport and escorted up a pier after being extradited from Pennsylvania.

Friedman Agnifilo said police turned Mangione’s return to New York into a choreographed spectacle.

“He was on display for everyone to see in the biggest stage perp walk I’ve ever seen in my career. It was absolutely unnecessary,” she said.

In a statement, Adams spokesperson Kayla Mamelak Altus said: “Critics can say all they want, but showing up to support our law enforcement and sending the message to New Yorkers that violence and vitriol have no place in our city is who Mayor Eric Adams is to his core.

“The cold-blooded assassination of Brian Thompson — a father of two — and the terror it infused on the streets of New York City for days has since been sickeningly glorified, shining a spotlight on the darkest corners of the internet.”

Friedman Agnifilo also accused federal and state prosecutors of advancing conflicting legal theories, calling their approach confusing and highly unusual. “He is being treated like a human Ping-Pong ball between warring jurisdictions here,” she said Monday.

State trial court Judge Gregory Carro said he has little control over what happens outside the courtroom, but can guarantee Mangione will receive a fair trial.

Authorities say Mangione gunned down Thompson as he was walking to an investor conference in midtown Manhattan on the morning of Dec 4.