Luigi Mangione dealt crushing court blow as judge rules jury is allowed to see alleged ‘manifesto’ and gun at murder trial

Luigi Mangione suffered a major defeat in court after a judge ruled that evidence obtained during his arrest could be presented to a jury.

Judge Gregory Carro ordered jurors to be shown a notebook found by police in Mangione’s backpack, in which the Ivy League graduate allegedly wrote that he wanted to ‘hit’ a senior figure in the health insurance industry.

The judge decided that the 9 mm ‘ghost gun’ found in Mangione’s backpack, which was claimed to be the murder weapon, would also be accepted as evidence.

However, other items wrapped in underwear, such as a bullet magazine, cell phone, passport and wallet, will not appear before the jury.

The judge also said it was acceptable for Mangione to tell a guard at a Pennsylvania prison that he had a 3D-printed gun in his backpack.

Mangione, dressed in a suit and sitting on the bench with his lawyers, did not show any reaction as the verdict was read.

The ruling is a major blow to Mangione in a New York state lawsuit for allegedly shooting UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel in December 2024.

Mangione, who turned 28 earlier this month, pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, possession of a weapon and possession of a fake instrument.

He will go to trial in September.

Late last year, Judge Carro held a nine-day hearing to determine what evidence would be allowed after Mangione’s lawyers argued that his constitutional rights against unlawful search and seizure had been violated.

Mangione, pictured in a court sketch in April, is accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson in December 2024.

They claimed police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, did not have a search warrant when Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in town five days after the Dec. 4 shooting.

Among the contents of the bag was a red notebook that prosecutors called a “manifesto” and Mangione’s lawyers called a “diary.”

Writing in October 2024, Mangione said he wanted to “shoot” the chief executive of an insurance company at his annual “counter-beans conference”.

Six weeks later, Thompson, a 59-year-old father of two, was shot outside the Hilton Midtown during a UnitedHealthcare conference.

At Monday’s hearing, Judge Carro told the court that police in Altoona conducted an “improper, warrantless search” on Mangione at the local McDonald’s.

This meant that the magazine, cell phone, passport and wallet found at that point would not be accepted as evidence.

But the judge said officers conducted a ‘valid inventory search’ after taking Mangione to the police station.

This means that the gun, silence and manifesto found at the police station will be taken in.

Judge Gregory Caro will decide whether prosecutors can show the jury the contents of Mangione’s backpack, when he was arrested in December 2024. A backpack seized by police in Central Park during the investigation

The 28-year-old Ivy League graduate has been charged with second-degree murder and weapons possession, as well as possession of a counterfeit instrument, in the death of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, all of which he has denied.

The judge also ruled that statements Mangione made before he was technically taken into custody were unacceptable.

The judge ruled the interruption occurred eight minutes after the first officers spoke with Mangione.

By that point, Mangione had admitted to a police officer that he should not have given a fake ID that said “Mark Rosario” on it.

The judge decided that this confession would not be accepted as evidence.

A diary entry from October 2024 allegedly described the investor conference as a “true windfall,” according to prosecutors.

The magazine stated: ‘It embodies everything that is wrong with our healthcare system.’

In another post dated August 2024, Mangione allegedly wrote: ‘Finally feeling confident about what to do. The details are coming together.

‘And I have no doubt as to whether this is true/justified. In a way, I’m glad I delayed because it allowed me to learn more about (UnitedHealthcare).

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed on his way to a conference in Manhattan in 2024.

CCTV footage released by the NYPD at the time showed suspect Mangione leaving the scene with a bicycle backpack.

‘The target is insurance. ‘It checks every box.’

Other items in the backpack included a 9mm ‘ghost gun’ or a 3D printed firearm with no serial number, a loaded gun magazine wrapped in a pair of underwear and a silencer.

The police who arrested Mangione said the bullets in the magazine convinced them that he was the killer.

According to prosecutors, the bullets used to kill Thompson were marked with the words ‘delay,’ ‘deny,’ and ‘express,’ referring to language used to deny health insurance claims.

Mangione recently caught a break in a separate federal case being heard in New York in a courtroom a few blocks from the state court.

U.S. District Judge Margaret M. Garnett dismissed four federal charges, including murder with the use of a firearm and related firearms offenses.

Critically, the dismissal of the murder charge meant that Mangione could no longer face the death penalty.

Mangione still faces two interstate harassment charges, which carry a maximum penalty of life in prison without parole.

The federal case is expected to go to trial next year after the state matter is concluded.

Mangione is currently being held at the dreaded Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal prison in Brooklyn whose previous inmates have included R. Kelly and Diddy.

Ahead of his hearing on Monday, Judge Garnett ordered the Bureau of Prisons to ensure Mangione can wear civilian clothes.

He said he was supposed to be given a suit, a shirt, a pair of socks and a pair of shoes, but no laces.