An attorney representing accused UnitedHealthcare CEO assassin Luigi Mangione has made a bombshell claim about his alleged manifesto.
Karen Agnifilo argued in recently submitted court papers that the police disclosed writings that they claimed were authored by the now 26-year-old individual and characterized them as a ‘manifesto,’ which in turn caused alarm as a means to validate the terrorism accusation made by prosecutors.
Shortly after Mangione’s apprehension at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania, following a five-day quest for the masked perpetrator who shot Brian Thompson outside a hotel in New York City, the writings were made public.
Allegedly, he was discovered with a 9-millimeter gun and silencer, attire identical to what the shooter wore in surveillance videos, and a journal detailing a plan to ‘whack’ a CEO of an insurance company, as indicated in legal documents.
But Agnifilo now says there is ‘absolutely no evidence’ to suggest her client wrote the so-called manifesto as she called out prosecutors for sharing the message.
‘Since the inception of this case, law enforcement has consistently leaked writings purported to be written by Mr. Mangione, while also prejudicially labeling these writings a “manifesto” to the media,’ she argued.
‘By releasing these writings to the public and calling them a manifesto, law enforcement is responsible for causing the very public alarm that they are now trying to attribute to Mr. Mangione, which is the basis for charging him with the enhanced charge of murder in the first degree as an act of terrorism.
‘There is absolutely no evidence that Mr. Mangione ever released the writings that law enforcement is attributing to him publicly; any publishing was done by law enforcement,’ she continued.
Karen Agnifilo, an attorney representing accused UnitedHealthcare CEO assassin Luigi Mangione, argued that police leaked writings they said belonged to the now 26-year-old and labeled them a ‘manifesto’ – thereby spreading fear in an effort to justify prosecutors’ terrorism charge
‘By painting Mr. Mangione as a “terrorist” and releasing a purported “manifesto,” law enforcement is intending to prejudice Mr. Mangione and cause the public alarm and fear that they now attribute to him,’ Agnifilo argued.
‘This is problematic and fatal to the government’s charge of murder in the first degree, which requires said murder to be in furtherance of an act of terrorism “intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population,” and insofar as it is law enforcement that is responsible for said intimidation.
‘This behavior by law enforcement is wildly irresponsible, as they are spreading a message to the public intended to incite individuals who may as a result believe Mr. Mangione held purported viewpoints.’
Investigators have claimed that Mangione, an Ivy League computer science graduate from a prominent Maryland family, was propelled by anger at the US health care system.
They pointed to the alleged manifesto, which included a number of grievances against UnitedHealthcare.
‘To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone. This was fairly trivial: some elementary social engineering, basic CAD, [and] a lot of patience,’ the document read, according to the Daily Beast.
It went on to say he had ‘respect’ for federal investigators, and apologized for causing any ‘traumas,’ but seemed to defend his alleged actions.
‘Frankly these parasites had it coming,’ the manifesto wrote.
It also noted that the United States had the ‘most expensive healthcare system in the world,’ but blasted the system for making America only the 42nd in life expectancy.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down outside of a New York City hotel
Mangione was allegedly found with a 9-millimeter pistol and silencer, clothing that matched the apparel worn by the shooter in surveillance footage
Mangione is now facing a slew of charges in the Big Apple, and is also facing lesser charges of false identification and weapons charges in Pennsylvania.
His attorney in that case has similarly claimed cops illegally took a personal notebook out of Mangione’s bag and dubbed it a manifesto to taint public opinion about his client.
‘The Altoona Police Department illegally seized a notebook which allegedly contained numerous personal writings covering a plethora of personal experiences of [Mangione],’ attorney Thomas Dickey wrote in court documents earlier this month.
‘This characterization of [Mangione’s] alleged personal experiences and writings is incorrect, improper, and without justification and has no probative value… [that] was done so solely for the purpose to prejudice [Mangione] and put him in a negative light before the public; all in an effort to prejudice any potential jury pool.’
The lawyer also claimed officers ‘lacked reasonable suspicion to engage in such activity’ and approached Mangione at the McDonald’s ‘based on a hunch.’
‘[Altoona police] had no independent corroborating evidence that [Mangione] was in fact the suspect sought in New York, prior to, or at the time of their stop and/or the investigatory detention of,’ said the court documents.
‘Any reasonable person, innocent of any crime, would have thought that he was being restrained if he had been in the Defendant’s shoes.’
Dickey said the officers abused their power and violated Mangione’s constitutional rights.
‘[The cops] combined actions [at the McDonalds were] designed to not only exhibit their authority and control over [Mangione], but to also to restrict and totally curtail his liberty,’ the filings said.
Mangione is now facing a slew of charges in the Big Apple, and is also facing lesser charges of false identification and weapons charges in Pennsylvania
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to an 11-count indictment charging him with murder as an act of terrorism and weapons offenses
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to an 11-count indictment charging him with murder as an act of terrorism and weapons offenses.
If convicted, Mangione could face life in prison without parole. He is now jailed in a federal lockup in Brooklyn.
He has been fiercely backed by a slew of fans who have praised Mangione for his alleged actions and started a GiveSendGo pages to raise money for his legal defense.
Some have even made art depicting him as a saint, saying he is a hero who has taken a stand against America’s broken healthcare system.
For Mangione’s upcoming 27th birthday, fans have also organized a ‘special’ donation fund – urging others to contribute $27 toward his legal fund as a ‘nice surprise and gift from us to him.’
He has been fiercely backed by a slew of fans who have praised Mangione for his alleged actions and started a GiveSendGo pages to raise money for his legal defense
Their goal is to take his controversial fundraising total from $745,000 – where it currently stands – to $1million.
While no amount of money will grant him bail, the fans hope the cash will be able to put together a convincing enough defense for an acquittal.
The campaign is also asking fans to submit birthday wishes, fan art, memes and messages of support.
They are also planning to protest the conditions within the jail where he’s being held.
The protest, according to the website, will aim to bring attention to ‘inhumane’ conditions inside the Metropolitan Detention Center, and ‘demand justice’ for those behind bars.
