The defense attorney of Luigi Mangione in Pennsylvania is still arguing that Altoona law enforcement unconstitutionally detained the murder suspect and conducted a search of his possessions after spotting him at a McDonald’s based on a tip.
Mangione, aged 26, faces charges of first-degree murder connected to an act of terrorism, as well as accusations of stalking and various state and federal offenses in New York and Pennsylvania. These charges stem from the alleged fatal shooting of Brian Thompson, the married father of two and CEO of UnitedHealthcare, on a Manhattan sidewalk in December 2024.
His legal representative now disputes authorities’ characterization of Mangione’s writings, reportedly discovered in his backpack at the time of his arrest on December 9, as a “manifesto.”
“The use of this characterization of the defendant’s alleged personal experiences and writings is incorrect, improper and without justification and has no probative value,” Altoona-based defense attorney Thomas Dickey said in a Tuesday court filing. “Defendant believes that this characterization was done so solely for the purpose to prejudice the defendant and put him in a negative light before the public, all in an effort to prejudice any potential jury pool.”
The suspected gunman in UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s murder, believed to be Luigi Mangione, is seen flirting with a hostel employee on surveillance footage before the Dec. 4 shooting. (NYPD)
The suspect allegedly fled the scene of Thompson’s murder, rode a bike to a bus station and took a bus to Altoona, where he was ultimately identified and arrested.
Mangione is originally from Maryland and recently lived in California and Hawaii. He graduated as valedictorian from the Gilman School, a private, all-boys high school in Baltimore, in 2016.
Mangione went on to receive his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania in 2020.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
