By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-20 16:03:39 | Updated at 2024-12-29 08:21:33
1 week ago
Luigi Mangione may never be photographed again, with the heartthrob facing a federal trial where cameras are banned and then potentially life behind bars.
Suspected murderer Mangione, 26, set the internet ablaze on Thursday after he made a court appearance in Altoona, Pennsylvania sporting a tidied-up look.
He was then flown to New York City and given a dystopian-looking perp walk which saw him flanked by multiple police officers and NYC Mayor Eric Adams.
Ghoulish fans of the alleged killer drooled over his good looks - but Thursday's widely-shared images of Luigi may be the last photos and videos they ever see.
Mangione was hit with federal murder and stalking charges this week over the December 4 murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, in Midtown Manhattan.
Photography is banned at both federal trials and at court proceedings in New York State, which has filed its own murder and terrorism charges against Mangione.
From now on, court sketches are likely the only new images of Mangione that will be released.
He is being held in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and will be transported to court each day in a secure van that will park inside the courthouse building.
Prosecutors are confident in their case against Mangione and if they do end up securing a conviction, he could face life behind bars, or even the death penalty if the federal charges stick too.
Luigi Mangione's dramatic perp walk in Manhattan on Thursday may be the last time the alleged assassin is seen for some time after he was slapped with federal charges
Social media erupted at the sight of Mangione in an orange prison jumpsuit arriving in New York, as observers were stunned by the huge number of heavily armed NYPD officers flanking the suspect
Police sources told the New York Post that federal prosecutors pushed for their own case to make sure Mangione was eligible for the death penalty.
New York outlawed the death penalty in 2004, however federal authorities are able to push for capital punishment in certain murder cases.
If Mangione is convicted and sentenced to death he can be transported to another state to be executed.
Officials will likely be relieved that future Mangione photo opportunities will be limited, potentially forever.
His handsome looks and decision to murder the CEO of a controversial health insurance company has seen him likened to a hero by many Americans, although that outpouring has itself triggered revulsion.
Fans have used AI to create images that depict Mangione as a Catholic saint, with investigators hopeful that a lack of new images will cool public feeling and make it easier to find an impartial jury.
But they have an uphill struggle. Even those who have vociferously condemned Mangione's alleged crimes say that the way he is being charged is unsettling.
They have highlighted why Mangione faces harsher charges and punishment that mass murderers or school shooters.
That in turn has sparked speculation that the government wants to make an example out of him and assuage the concerns of corporate America. Critics claim that is a brazen example of two-tier justice.
'Very few school shooters have gotten the death penalty. Yet the U.S. is trying to charge Luigi Mangione so he gets the death penalty for killing one man,' one posted on X.
'You can kill dozens of kids and get a lesser sentence because their lives don’t matter as much as a CEO’s. That’s America.'
Supporters lined the streets in Pennsylvania and Manhattan when Mangione was transferred, including some who dressed as Luigi from the Super Mario Bro's franchise.
Protesters showed up outside the Pennsylvania court to support Mangione on Thursday
Some supporters dressed as Luigi from the Super Mario Bro's franchise to show their support
Supporters seen in Manhattan on Thursday, with one holding a sign depicting the words Mangione allegedly left by Brian Thompson's body (right)
Mangione, center, sits in court reading the federal complaint while wearing orange slip on shoes and his ankles shackled in Manhattan federal court on Thursday
Many also questioned the NYPD's decision to have such a high-profile perp walk with Mangione on Thursday, which only increased the public fixation on him as it resembled a scene from a Hollywood movie.
One X user said: 'Luigi stepping out with a fresh cut/shave, possible death penalty charges, and an NYPD photoshoot is the craziest thing in the world.
'Are they actively trying to make him a martyr? Whether you're for or against him, they're making it SO easy for everyone to lionize him.'
The newly unsealed federal indictment against Mangione includes more details of the notes police say they found on his notebook when he was arrested last week - including his desire to 'wack' (sic) the CEO of an insurance company.
Mangione repeatedly wrote about his disdain for the health insurance industry and its executives, per prosecutors. In an entry from August 15, Mangione allegedly wrote how 'the details are finally coming together' and that 'the target is insurance' because' it checks every box.'
On October 22, Mangione allegedly wrote: '1.5 months. This investor conference is a true windfall... and - most importantly - the message becomes self evident.'
In the same entry, Mangione describes his intent to 'wack' the CEO of an insurance company.
Mangione, a member of a wealthy Maryland family, had never received health insurance from United Healthcare.
He fell off the radar earlier this year after suffering severe back pain and undergoing extensive surgery on his spine.
The alleged murderer waived a preliminary hearing on the Pennsylvania forgery and gun charges in exchange for the prosecutor giving him a 20-page investigative report from the Altoona Police Department. Mangione also agreed to be extradited to New York.
Earlier this week, he was indicted on charges of murder as an act of terrorism, under a NY state law that allows for stiffer sentences when a killing is aimed at terrifying civilians or influencing government.
Mangione, of Towson, Maryland, was arrested on December 9 when police were called to a McDonald’s restaurant on a commercial strip in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after he was reported to match the description of Thompson’s killer.
Thompson was gunned down on the street as he walked to the hotel where his Minnesota-based company was holding an investor conference.
The shooting was captured on security video, but the suspect eluded police before Mangione was captured about 277 miles west of New York.
Authorities say Mangione was carrying the gun used to kill Thompson, a passport, a fake ID and about $10,000 in U.S. and foreign currency.
