The federal case against Luigi Mangione, accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, entered a new phase this month as his defense team moved to dismiss key charges and suppress evidence ahead of a December hearing.
Lawyers for Mangione filed a motion on October 10 seeking dismissal of Counts Three and Four of his federal indictment, which include the only charge that could carry the death penalty. They also asked U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett to suppress statements allegedly obtained without Miranda warnings and to throw out evidence collected from what they say was a warrantless search of Mangione’s backpack.
The filing marks the latest turn in a case that has tested the boundaries of federal criminal procedure and the conduct of the Department of Justice under Attorney General Pam Bondi, who has directed prosecutors to seek capital punishment in the killing.
The motions are likely to determine whether the case proceeds as a capital prosecution or is significantly narrowed before trial.
Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to both federal and state charges stemming from the December 4, 2024, shooting of Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel, where the executive was arriving for an investor conference. According to court filings, Mangione allegedly fled on a bicycle before taking a taxi to a bus station bound for Pennsylvania, where he was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona.
Judge Raises Concerns Over DOJ Conduct
In a September 24 order, Judge Garnett said it “appears” multiple Justice Department employees may have violated local court rules prohibiting public statements that could prejudice a criminal case. The judge cited a letter from Mangione’s attorneys that included examples of DOJ staff reposting comments by President Donald Trump about the case and adding their own opinions.
She directed federal prosecutors to file a sworn declaration explaining “how these violations occurred, despite the Court’s April 25 Order,” and what steps were being taken to prevent future breaches. Garnett warned that future violations “may result in sanctions, which could include personal financial penalties, contempt findings, or relief specific to the prosecution of this matter.”
Prosecutors have since claimed the employees involved “are not members of the prosecution team” and have “no operational role” in the Mangione case, according to an October 9 filing reviewed by CBS News.
Defense Targets Death Penalty and Search
The October 10 motion filed by attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo argues that the government’s use of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), which allows capital punishment in murders committed with a firearm during another “crime of violence,” is improper because the alleged underlying crime—stalking—does not meet that definition. The defense further contends that Mangione’s arrest and questioning violated constitutional protections.
Mangione’s lawyers said prosecutors should also be prevented from using at trial his statements to law enforcement officers and his backpack, where a gun and ammunition were found, arguing that both pieces of evidence stemmed from illegal searches and interrogations.
The DOJ has not publicly commented on the latest filing.
Background and Broader Implications
The Mangione case has drawn national attention both for its violent circumstances and its political reverberations. The killing of a high-profile insurance executive was described by Bondi as a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America,” while sparking fierce online debate about the power and ethics of major health insurers.
State prosecutors previously dropped terrorism charges against Mangione after a Manhattan judge ruled in September that his alleged anti-corporate motives did not satisfy New York’s statutory definition of terrorism. “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,’” Judge Gregory Carro wrote in that ruling, per The Dallas Express.
Judge Garnett is a 2023 appointee of President Joe Biden. When she was nominated, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer described her as “a staunch defender of the rights of the accused” and praised her “ability to see all sides of a case without prejudgment.”
The federal court has set a December 5 hearing on Mangione’s motions. Until then, the defendant remains in custody at a Brooklyn detention center awaiting trial on charges that could determine not only his fate but the boundaries of federal power in politically charged prosecutions.