NEW YORK, NY – Accused gunman Luigi Mangione is due back in a New York courtroom as a pivotal pretrial hearing resumes in the 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson, a case that has become a flashpoint over 3D-printed guns, the health insurance industry, and political violence.
The current hearing in Manhattan state court is focused on a narrow but crucial question: what evidence jurors will be allowed to see if the case goes to trial. Mangione’s lawyers are asking the judge to throw out a series of items and statements gathered when he was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, five days after the shooting. Prosecutors argue the search and questioning were lawful and that the materials are central to proving premeditation.
According to court filings and recent testimony, police recovered a handgun, a suppressor, multiple identification documents and a notebook from Mangione’s backpack at the time of his arrest. Investigators say ballistics link the 9 mm pistol to shell casings found near Thompson’s body outside the New York Hilton Midtown, and that the journal criticizes the U.S. health insurance system and sketches out violent plans.
Law enforcement officials have described the weapon as a partially 3D-printed “ghost gun” designed along the lines of a Glock 19, with an add-on silencer also made on a 3D printer.
A prison guard testified that Mangione later told him, unprompted, that he had carried a 3D-printed gun in his bag when he was taken into custody, a statement prosecutors want jurors to hear. The defense says that remark and other comments should be suppressed, arguing they were obtained without proper Miranda warnings and after unconstitutional questioning.
Surveillance footage from the McDonald’s and a recording of the 911 call that led police to the restaurant have also been played in court as part of the evidentiary hearing.
Proceedings were briefly delayed late last week when Mangione’s lawyers reported that he was ill, but the judge ordered the hearing to resume on Monday, with additional officers expected to testify about the arrest and backpack search.
Thompson, 54, was shot on December 4, 2024, as he walked toward an investors meeting near the New York Hilton Midtown in Manhattan. Investigators say a masked attacker waited on the opposite side of West 54th Street, crossed when Thompson approached the hotel entrance, and fired multiple rounds from a suppressed pistol, hitting him in the back and leg before fleeing on an electric bike. Thompson died shortly after at a nearby hospital.
Police later said cartridge cases at the scene carried the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” etched into them, phrases that echoed slogans used by critics of the health insurance industry
The shooting set off a multi-day manhunt. According to investigators, security footage and forensic evidence pointed to a suspect who had checked into a Manhattan hostel under an alias before the attack and left the city by bus afterward. Authorities say Mangione was ultimately identified in Pennsylvania after a McDonald’s employee called 911, suspecting that a masked customer matched the widely circulated description of the shooter.
When he was detained, officers say they found the pistol, a 3D-printed suppressor, a handwritten letter addressed “To the Feds” that laid out his grievances with the health care system, a U.S. passport and several fraudulent identification documents.
Mangione, now 27, has pleaded not guilty to both state and federal charges. At the state level, he is charged in New York with second-degree murder and multiple weapons offenses. Initial counts that framed the killing as an act of terrorism were dismissed in September when a state judge ruled that prosecutors had not met the legal standard for terrorism under New York law, although the underlying murder and weapons charges remained in place.
Federal prosecutors have brought their own case accusing Mangione of stalking Thompson across state lines and using a firearm equipped with a silencer in a crime of violence. The U.S. Department of Justice has said those charges make him eligible for the death penalty, and earlier this year Attorney General Pam Bondi formally directed prosecutors to seek capital punishment if he is convicted in the federal case.
Alleged motive and “folk hero” debate
Court documents and public reporting describe Mangione as an engineer who had written online about his own back problems and frustrations with the U.S. health care system. Investigators believe he was driven by hostility toward health insurers and corporate power, pointing to social media posts and writings that condemn companies like UnitedHealthcare as “parasites” and accuse them of harming patients by denying coverage.
The release of an alleged manifesto and details about the 3D-printed gun fueled intense online reaction after Thompson’s death. While many public officials and commentators denounced the killing, social media platforms were also flooded with posts that mocked the CEO, praised his attacker or used the case to highlight personal stories of denied medical claims.
Over time, Mangione has attracted a small but visible group of supporters who show up outside courthouses and on college campuses, sometimes wearing T-shirts or holding signs casting him as a symbol of resistance to the health insurance industry.
Friends and former colleagues of Thompson have sharply criticized any attempt to mythologize the accused killer. One former coworker told an international outlet that the public fascination with Mangione “just disgusts” him and urged people to remember the impact on Thompson’s family instead of glamorizing the violence.
What comes next
The outcome of the ongoing evidentiary hearing will shape the eventual state murder trial, determining whether jurors hear about the 3D-printed gun, the notebook, the McDonald’s encounter and statements made after Mangione’s arrest. No trial date has been set, and Mangione remains in federal custody while the state and federal cases move forward in tandem.
Legal analysts say the case is likely to test not only the limits of search and seizure law and Miranda protections, but also how the justice system responds when a politically charged killing intersects with emerging technologies and widespread anger over access to health care.
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Key Facts & Details
| Category | Information |
|---|---|
| Defendant | Luigi Mangione, 27 |
| Victim | Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare |
| Date of Shooting | December 4, 2024 |
| Location of Shooting | Outside the New York Hilton Midtown, Manhattan |
| Alleged Weapon | 3D-printed handgun with 3D-printed suppressor (“ghost gun”) |
| Arrest Date & Location | December 9, 2024 at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania |
| Key Evidence Recovered | Handgun and silencer; notebook; multiple IDs; “To the Feds” letter; backpack items; bus ticket; surveillance video |
| Charges (State) | Second-degree murder; weapons charges (terrorism counts dismissed in 2025) |
| Charges (Federal) | Stalking; use of a firearm with a silencer in a violent crime; eligible for federal death penalty |
| Current Proceedings | Ongoing evidentiary hearings to determine admissibility of arrest-related evidence |
| Prosecution Position | Evidence is lawful and shows detailed planning and motive related to health-insurance grievances |
| Defense Position | Claims evidence and statements were obtained improperly; seeks suppression |
| Alleged Motive | Hostility toward the health insurance industry; writings expressing anti-corporate and anti-insurer sentiment |
| Public Reaction | Mix of condemnation and disturbing online praise; some supporters present at court appearances |
| Next Steps | Judge to rule on evidence admissibility; state murder trial date pending; federal case proceeding separately |
As the legal process moves forward, both the state and federal cases against Mangione are expected to unfold over many months. Prosecutors and defense attorneys continue to battle over what evidence will ultimately reach a jury, a decision that could shape the direction of both trials. For now, Mangione remains in custody while the court determines how the high-profile case will proceed.
