Luigi Mangione Expected in Court This Week: What to Know

By Mandy Taheri

Politics and Culture Reporter

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Luigi Mangione who is accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson nearly a year ago, is expected to return to court on Monday after months without a hearing.

The pretrial session focuses on what evidence can be admitted at trial. Mangione’s attorneys referred Newsweek to an earlier defense motion arguing police violated his constitutional rights by searching his backpack and questioning him without proper warning or warrant. The filing argues that any evidence obtained from those actions should not be admissible in trial.

Newsweek has reached out to the District Attorney’s office for comment via email on Sunday.

Why It Matters

Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9, 2024, five days after Thompson was fatally shot in Midtown Manhattan. The 27-year-old suspect has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges, including murder and weapons-related counts, and is being held without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

He has drawn a notable following, with some supporters viewing his alleged actions as a stand against the health insurance industry, often posting memes in support or protesting against his trial, calling out “Free Luigi.” Backers have raised more than $1.3 million for his legal defense and sent more than 6,000 letters to Mangione in jail.

Others, including President Donald Trump, maintain he is a cold-blooded assassin.

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What To Know

Mangione is scheduled to appear in court on Monday, with the court docket noting earlier in November that the Bureau of Prisons and the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) was ordered to accept two suits and additional clothing for his appearance.

The defense argues that the items inside Mangione’s backpack should not be permitted into evidence because the police did not have a warrant at the time and reportedly did not read him his Miranda Rights, which include the right to remain silent and an attorney, and informing the individual that anything they say can and will be used against them in court.

In a filing his legal team writes, “Law enforcement has methodically and purposefully trampled his constitutional rights by interrogating him without Miranda warnings in violation of the Fifth Amendment and illegally searching his property without a warrant in violation of the Fourth Amendment.”

When Mangione was found at a Pennsylvania McDonald's police searched him and said a gun, notebook, and electronics recovered from his backpack connect him to Thompson’s murder. The district attorney’s office maintains the police did not violate his rights.

Mangione appeared in court in September when the judge dismissed terrorism charges against him. Dozens of supporters had attended his last hearing, many wearing the green color associated with the Luigi character from the Super Mario video game franchise as a symbol of solidarity.

What People Are Saying

Gary Galperin, a former federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York told The Gothamist on Sunday: “The defense is going [to] have an uphill battle when it comes to suppressing evidence found in the backpack.”

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in an April press release: “Luigi Mangione’s murder of Brian Thompson—an innocent man and father of two young children—was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America. After careful consideration, I have directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case as we carry out President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again.”

Judge Gregory Carro wrote in his September decision: "While the defendant was clearly expressing an animus toward UHC, and the health care industry generally, it does not follow that his goal was to 'intimidate and coerce a civilian population,' and indeed, there was no evidence presented of such a goal."