Star-struck fans greeted the 26-year-old suspect, Luigi Mangione in the murder as he came to Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday for a status hearing. Mangione is accused of shooting the CEO of UnitedHealthcare to death on Dec. 4 outside the New York Hilton Midtown.
Hailey Viviani, a 23-year-old fan of his, was in attendance and said she thought, “Oh my god,” as the suspected murderer gazed down at her as he exited after court.
“Seeing him with the handcuffs on his hands and his arms was dehumanising,” said Viviani, a Staten Island, New York, cashier in a later statement. It is sad to see them treat him like he is a terrible guy.
At a Manhattan courthouse hearing, Luigi Mangione was seen for the first time since December. He is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on the streets of New York City on December 4, 2024.
Approximately 150 individuals also attended outside the courtroom, waving posters and a flag with Mangione’s face on them as they chanted, “Free Luigi.”
At Friday’s hearing, Mangione sat with his lawyers in shackles, a green sweater and a bulletproof vest. Supporters waited outside the courthouse to get a glimpse of him.
Mangione sat and listened as his attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, argued that he was not receiving a fair trial.
On Dec. 23, Mangione pleaded not guilty to state murder and terror charges in Thompson’s Dec. 4 murder. Mangione is represented by Marc Agnifilo, Jacob Kaplan, and Karen Friedman Agnifilo.
As soon as Agnifilo entered the courtroom, Mangione’s supporters began thunderous applause.
Judge Gregory Carro was informed by Mangione’s team that they were unable to visit their client while he was incarcerated in a federal prison facility in Brooklyn.
Judge Carro denied the defense’s request to have Mangione’s hands and ankles removed from their shackles, so he attended court with them on his person.
As the situation around his trial unfolds, Mangione is currently being held in a federal detention center in Brooklyn. Luigi Mangione’s supporters showed up for a hearing at a Manhattan courthouse on Friday.
On the day of his hearing, photos depicting Mangione as a saint were seen throughout New York City. Mangione had not been spotted outside the jail building since December prior to Friday’s hearing.
Five days after he allegedly murdered Thompson outside the Hilton Hotel, Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
Mangione’s fan base has reached dizzying heights, and photographs of her as a saint cover Manhattan. Mangione was attached to the back of a tractor-trailer in a doctored photo snapped by a New Yorker.
To catch a glimpse of the man who has been dubbed “vigilante,” Mangione’s fans packed the courthouse.
Last month, Mangione organized a GiveSendGo fundraiser intending to reach $1 million. More than $500,000 has so far been donated to Mangione through the campaign.
The rationale made it certain that the organizers “believe in the constitutional right of fair legal representation” and not about glorifying violence.
Mangione expressed appreciation last week for the people’s support in a statement: ‘Overwhelmingly, this endorsement has cut across political, racial, and even class lines, as mail poured into the MDC from all over the country, and around the world,’ the message stated.
‘Although I can’t respond to most of the letters, know that I read every letter that I receive. Mangione has been accused federally of stalking, murder, and weapons possession.
There has not yet been word if the state would seek the death penalty. The date of his next court date is March 19.