All the Discoveries from Luigi Mangione’s Pretrial State Hearing

Nearly three weeks worth of testimony and state evidence was released for the first time in the case against Luigi Mangione, who is accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, during a multi-day hearing. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and eight other charges.

The pretrial hearing was set to determine if the search of Mangione’s backpack during his arrest was lawful and if officers read him his Miranda rights before arresting and questioning him. 

A judge will make the ultimate determination and decide if prosecutors will be allowed to show future jurors pieces of evidence they argue they have against the 27-year-old. While it’s possible the judge could suppress those pieces of evidence, historically, judges often side with the prosecution, defense attorney Joey Jackson told CNN.

Some of that evidence includes the items found in the backpack: a 3D-printed gun, loaded magazine, silencer and journal. 

Mangione’s case has been deeply watched by an American public that is frustrated with the country’s health care system. A 2024 Gallup poll showed the positive rating of the quality of healthcare in the U.S. was at its lowest point since 2001.

Women filled the courtroom at his hearings and supporters lined courtroom steps in freezing weather holding signs that say “Health Care Is a Human Right” and “Luigi Before Fascists.” A satirical comedy musical about Mangione being in the same Brooklyn jail as Diddy and Sam Bankman-Fried even sold out theaters in San Francisco and Scotland.

“We were very interested not necessarily whether it was the right or wrong thing to do but kind of interrogating this cultural moment that was about kind of talking about how hot he was or talking about his sexuality,” actor Andrew Margatini, who plays Bankman-Fried, told NPR of the show.

The case has gripped the country, fueling internet meme culture and leading to Etsy creators making products referring to him as the “patron saint of health care.” Supporters can buy crewnecks that say “deny, defend, depose,” a reference to the words police have said were written on the bullet casings allegedly used by Mangione.

The evidence and testimony released during the hearing centers around Mangione’s arrest at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Penn., a few days after the shooting and the behavior of the officers during his arrest. 

According to a video of the first interaction between Mangione and police, an officer requested he pull down the medical face mask he was wearing and asked for his name. Mangione said his name was “Mark Rosario” and gave the officer an New Jersey ID with the same name.

Mangione eventually fessed up to the fake name when officers pressed him and admitted that he “clearly shouldn’t have” lied when asked why he did. The prosecution will likely use his lie as a way to argue Mangione was trying to hide from police. The ID was also used by Mangione when he checked into a hostel in New York City, authorities have said, again arguing that this ties the suspect to the shooting.

Police testified at the hearing that Mangione’s fake ID gave them probable cause to arrest him on charges related to the ID, and because of that, allowed them to search his backpack.

“We are arresting him for a crime he committed,” Officer Stephen Fox testified. “We can search his bag ‘incident to arrest’ all day on that. We do not need to worry about the New York case at that time. He’s arrested for a crime he committed in our presence.”

Mangione’s attorneys argued the search of his backpack was illegal. Body camera footage showed that Patrolman Christy Wasser first searched the backpack after telling a superior officer that she just wanted to “make sure there’s no bomb.”

Corporal Garrett Trent replied, "I understand. At this point we probably need a search warrant."

The body camera showed an important conversation between multiple officers who were arguing the validity of any search, with one saying that it was “incident to arrest,” which ABC News reported is a term that authorizes officers to search people who are in custody.

Defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo argued that at that point, Mangione had only been arrested for giving a fake license and that the search of the backpack exceeded what should have been allowed. She argued the officers searched the bag because they suspected him in the New York shooting, but he had not been arrested for that crime yet.

"Isn't it true that you were actually searching his bag because you thought he was the New York City shooter?" Agnifilo asked Wasser on the stand December 8. 

"No, we search everyone," Wasser responded.

Police not only found a gun in the backpack, but also a loaded magazine and a personal notebook that was read by prosecutors who said Mangione allegedly gave praise to the “Unabomber” Theodore Kaczynski. Police said Mangione also wrote a to-do list in the notebook including tasks like pluck eyebrows, buy less conspicuous shoes, take a bus or train to Cincinnati and St. Louis, move around at night and avoid surveillance cameras. It would be a major blow to the state’s case if prosecutors were barred from sharing those writings during a trial, experts have said.

Mangione’s attorneys argued at the hearing that he was not properly read his Miranda rights—which includes the right to remain silent—before he answered questions asked by the officers because the reading didn’t happen until about 20 minutes after they first started peppering him with questions, according to the body camera footage.

As a result, the defense said the judge should set aside any comments Mangione made between the December 9 encounter with police in McDonald’s through his extradition to New York 10 days later. Prosecutors argued that his Miranda rights were properly read and that his answers should be included in a future trial.

The judge's decision could have an impact on whether the jury hears evidence that Mangione gave a false name or any comments he made to officers before he was sent to New York, including that he allegedly told corrections officer Matthew Henry that he had a 3D-printed gun or that Mangione discussed the differences in private and nationalized health care with another corrections officer.

In a future trial, the state could use those statements to show Mangione’s focus on health care and his admission that he had the gun.