TWISTED supporters of alleged assassin Luigi Mangione beamed at him in court and hurled sick chants outside on Friday, with some even traveling across the country to attend his hearing.
Mangione was hauled back to the Lower Manhattan courthouse on Friday afternoon – his first hearing since pleading not guilty to murder and terror state charges in December.
In court, defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo fought to have Mangione removed from federal custody after confirming New York State will get to try their case against him first.
Mangione, who is facing three separate indictments in New York, Pennsylvania, and by the Department of Justice, is being housed in the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his extradition to New York on December 19, 2024.
State prosecutors began the hearing by listing the evidence they had shared with Mangione’s defense team.
The evidence included bodycam footage and medical examiner files.
However, Agnifilo argued her team still needed more material from prosecutors before she ripped into New York City Police Department officials and Mayor Eric Adams for appearing in an HBO documentary where they discussed evidence of the case.
Agnifilo later spoke privately with Mangione before the hearing ended.
Outside the courthouse, Agnifilo criticized the Department of Justice for refusing to turn Mangione over to state custody.
‘SHOW OF DANGER’
“The Department of Justice has refused to allow him to be in state custody despite the fact that they all agreed that the state court is going to go first,” Agnifilo said.
“Now, this is problematic for several reasons. Number 1, the federal government is still considering whether to execute Luigi and considering whether to seek the death penalty.
“We are fighting that simultaneously while going first here in state court and it impacts our ability to meet with him before court, after court.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Luigi Mangione ‘Jesus mural’ seen at courthouse as sick fans call CEO ‘assassin’ a ‘bright light & camp out for hearing’” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”pV1KxHf2t” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6369153191112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]“He’s constantly surrounded by law enforcement. He’s in shackles. He was wearing a vest today, I don’t know what it looked like but it was a very serious vest with his legs shackled, and his arms shackled.”
Agnifilo continued, “He’s being treated differently – because he’s being held in federal custody – than any other person who would be facing serious murder one charges in New York.
“I made a record in court today that I don’t understand this show of danger is for.
“When I go visit Luigi at MDC in Brooklyn, I sit with him, he is unshackled. He walks around freely in the visiting area, we sit in a room together without law enforcement hovering over us.
“But for some reason here despite all the law enforcement, they need him to be wearing this vest, they need him to be shackled, and they stand right over us and we get no time with him.”
Mangione was escorted into the courtroom by heavily armed police officers and was shackled by the legs and wrists as he wore a black bulletproof vest.
The accused killer showed no emotion as a sea of reporters and supporters gathered in the courtroom hallway.
He wore a forest green cable-knit sweatshirt with a white collar shirt underneath.
MANGIONE’S DEFENSE SLAMS MAYOR ADAMS
In court, Agnifilo requested to have Mangione unshackled during his hearing but was denied by Judge Carro, citing security reasons.
Agnifilo argued how her client’s right to a fair trial was being “impacted” by the NYPD’s chief of detectives, Joseph Kenny, and Mayor Adams.
She ripped Adams and Kenny for their appearance on the HBO documentary, Who Is Luigi Mangione, and for discussing evidence in the interview that had not been shared with her legal team.
“Which brings me to the most important point we made today is that Luigi’s right to a fair trial is being infringed upon,” Agnifilo said.
“He is being publicly treated as guilty, as having the presumption of guilty, as opposed to the presumption of innocence, which is what he is entitled to.
“Of course, I understand the NYPD’s need for a press conference before an arrest, or after an arrest, which they did here, I didn’t like it but they did it and I understood it.
“What I did not understand, how shocking it was was that this week on HBO in a documentary I see the chief of detectives and the New York City mayor, full hair and makeup done, sitting down and giving an interview, for television, and talking about the evidence in Luigi’s case.
“Talking about paperwork that we don’t have, talking about forensics that we have not received, I guess we have them now today, but I didn’t when I was sitting there, learning about the case.
“Hearing an actor playing Luigi, reading from a journal that they say is Luigi’s and we have yet to receive it from the prosecution.
“So, it’s outrageous that they have time to go and prejudice Mr. Mangione’s ability to receive a fair trial and go out and make these statements and not give this to us.”
Agnifilo warned about the potential for a judge to suppress the evidence discussed in the documentary, which could impact her case.
“There might be evidence that is suppressed in this case,” Agnifilo said.
Judge Carro did not immediately set a trial date.
Mangione’s hearing on Friday was held in the same courtroom as President Donald Trump‘s hush money trial and Harvey Weinstein‘s 2020 sex abuse trial.
LUIGI SUPPORTERS
Nineteen members of the public were granted access to Mangione’s hearing and 16 of the attendees were young woman, the New York Daily News.
Brooke Warner, 28, along with her fiancé, flew into New York from Utah to attend Friday’s hearing.
Warner told TMZ she got in line outside Manhattan Criminal Court at 7 am to express her solidarity with Mangione.
The Utah native slammed the media for “treating him unfairly.”
“We want everyone to know the perp walk pissed us off,” Warner told the outlet.
Moments before the hearing began, defense attorney Agnifilo arrived to cheers and applause from supporters of her client.
The cheers of dozens of Mangione supporters outside the courthouse could be heard in the 15th floor courtroom, according to the outlet.
As the court proceeding ended, a correction officer warned supporters in the galley, “no outbursts.”
Mangione was escorted out of the courtroom without any outbursts from the attendees.
Outside Manhattan Criminal Court, pro-Mangione digital billboards, T-shirt vendors, and dozens of demonstrators took over the sidewalks to show their support of the accused killer.
A black box truck with images of Mangione was seen driving past Manhattan Criminal Court hours before the scheduled 2:30 pm court hearing.
The digital billboard driving through Lower Manhattan streets appeared after a digital projection of Mangione, depicted as the Sacred Heart of Jesus, emerged on the side of a building near Lafayette and Canal Street on Thursday evening.
The image showed Mangione wearing a green and white cloak with a shining red heart on the center.
Yellow letters reading “Free Luigi” were printed across Mangione’s neck.
Critics blasted the projection’s promotion as “glorifying a killer.”
“Dude is accused of ASSASSINATION,” one wrote on X.
A second person ripped the message, “I hope he gets the death penalty. To actually glorify a killer is crazy. It’s saying sure it’s okay to do something because you were affected by someone or a business.”
“That’s actually nuts. The guy murdered someone,” another commented.
However, Mangione’s sick supporters described his projected image as a “bright light.”
“He is such a bright light in the dark hours of the nation, and the fragmented world,” one person shared on Threads.
A second wrote, “He is the only reason I have some semblance of hope.”
A group of Mangione supporters, including one woman pictured wearing a burgundy and navy blue striped scarf with “Free Luigi” written across it, gathered inside the Lower Manhattan courthouse hours before the scheduled hearing.
Supporters reportedly braved the frigid temperatures and “camped outside” the courthouse to try and secure a seat for the proceeding.
“What lunatic thinks it’s acceptable to camp outside of a courthouse from 3am??? luigi mangione is not for your entertainment!!!! this is not a concert, it is a COURT CASE & a very serious one at that,” one person fumed in an X post.
LUIGI BREAKS HIS SILENCE
Mangione is facing state and federal charges in connection to the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive Brian Thompson, who was gunned down on a bustling sidewalk in Midtown on December 4.
The accused assassin has been housed in the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn after being extradited from Pennsylvania to New York City on December 19, 2024.
Federal prosecutors charged Mangione, who was initially facing 11 state offense, with four federal counts that could potentially allow the Department of Justice to push for the death penalty.
Mangione made his first public statement since he pleaded not guilty in state court on December 23, 2024, thanking his supporters for their unwavering emotional and financial support.
“I am overwhelmed by – and grateful for – everyone who has written me to share their stories and express their support,” Mangione said in a statement shared on a website created and maintained by his defense team.
“Powerfully, this support has transcended political, racial, and even class divisions, as mail has flooded MDC from across the country, and around the globe.
“While it is impossible for me to reply to most letters, please know that I read every one that I receive.
“Thank you again to everyone who took the time to write. I look forward to hearing more in the future.”
The legal defense fund for Mangione has garnered over $500,000 in donations as of Friday.
LUIGI MANGIONE MANHUNT
Mangione led state and federal authorities on a five-day manhunt that ended in his arrest at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 280 miles west of the Hilton hotel in Midtown where Thompson was assassinated, on December 9.
Altoona police found Mangione in possession of a silencer, a 9mm ghost gun, and several fake identifications.
When he was approached by police, Mangione presented a fake New Jersey ID, which federal prosecutors said was the same one Thompson’s killer used to check into an Upper West Side hostel days before the shooting.
Mangione was also found with a three-page handwritten manifesto that slammed healthcare companies for putting profit above care, according to a federal indictment.
Brian Thompson, 50, was fatally shot in cold blood at around 6:45 am on December 4, 2024, as he arrived for an investor conference at the Hilton hotel.
Shocking surveillance footage captured the moment a masked and hooded gunman snuck up behind the UnitedHealthcare chief executive and unloaded several shots.
Thompson died after being shot multiple times in the back and leg, New York Police said.
The hooded assassin, believed to be Mangione, calmly walked away from the scene, hopped on an e-bike, and pedaled Uptown before zooming into Central Park.
Video captured the man exiting Central Park around 77th Street, still on the bicycle, police said.
Investigators believe the suspect ditched the bike and walked to 86th Street before jumping into a taxi.
The accused killer then exited at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, near 178th Street and Broadway, where it is believed he boarded a bus out of New York City.
Outside the Hilton hotel, investigators uncovered three spent shell casings with the words “deny,” “depose,” and “defend” written on them.
The message is similar to a 2010 book written by insurance law expert and Rutgers Law School professor Jay M. Feinman.
Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claim and What You Can Do About It is a fiercely critical expose of the insurance industry.
[boxout headline=”Who is Luigi Mangione?” featured-image=”32245023″ intro=”LUIGI Mangione, 26, was regarded as a beloved, clever and wealthy man by his family, friends and all who knew him.”]He was born and raised in Maryland and graduated as the valedictorian from the private all-boys Gilman School in Baltimore.
He had no prior criminal history and was said to have been a model student, soccer player, and all-around athlete at high school.
One former student from the Gilman School told The U.S. Sun that Mangione was “popular” and had a “big circle of friends.”
“We went to the same school but didn’t really have the same friends. I’m really shocked by this whole thing,” the former student, who asked not to be identified, said.
“I think he played soccer, it was an all-boys school, so being a good athlete got you social currency for sure.”
Mangione graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied computer and information science, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He also got his masters from the Ivy League school.
Mangione was reportedly a data engineer at a car company in California before moving to Hawaii.
His cousin is also Republican Maryland State Delegate Nino Mangione.