Attorneys representing Luigi Mangione have requested a New York federal judge on Saturday to eliminate certain criminal accusations from a federal indictment related to a December incident, specifically the charge that could result in the death penalty, tied to the assassination of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO.

According to documents submitted in Manhattan federal court, the attorneys argue that prosecutors should be barred from introducing Mangione’s statements to law enforcement and evidence from his backpack, which contained a firearm and ammunition, during the trial.

The defense claims Mangione was not informed of his legal rights prior to being interrogated by law enforcement, following his arrest after Brian Thompson was shot dead upon arriving at a Manhattan hotel for an investor meeting.

They added that officers did not obtain a warrant before searching Mangione’s backpack.

Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges in the fatal shooting of Brian Thompson on Dec. 4 as he arrived at a Manhattan hotel for his company’s annual investor conference.

The killing set off a multi-state search after the suspected shooter slipped away from the scene and rode a bike to Central Park, before taking a taxi to a bus depot that offers service to several nearby states.

Five days later, a tip from a McDonald’s about 233 miles away in Altoona, Pennsylvania, led police to arrest Mangione.

He has been held without bail since then.

Last month, lawyers for Mangione asked that his federal charges be dismissed and the death penalty be taken off the table as a result of public comments by US Attorney General Pam Bondi.

In April, Bondi directed prosecutors in New York to seek the death penalty, calling the killing of Thompson a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.”

Murder cases are usually tried in state courts, but prosecutors have also charged Mangione under a federal law on murders committed with firearms as part of other “crimes of violence.”

It’s the only charge for which Mangione could face the death penalty, since it’s not used in New York state.

The papers filed early Saturday morning argued that this charge should be dismissed because prosecutors have failed to identify the other offenses that would be required to convict him, saying that the alleged other crime — stalking — is not a crime of violence.

The assassination and its aftermath has captured the American imagination, setting off a cascade of resentment and online vitriol toward US health insurers while rattling corporate executives concerned about security.

After the killing, investigators found the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose,” written in permanent marker on ammunition at the scene.

The words mimic a phrase used by insurance industry critics.