Trial of Luigi Mangione

Overview

The Trial of Luigi Mangione refers to the upcoming trial(s) for 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, the suspected shooter in the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in early December 2024. Mangione was detained at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania related to the crime committed in New York City several days later. He was held without bail. An alleged manifesto, a fake New Jersey ID and a gun were found on Mangione at the time of his detainment, leading law enforcement to believe he was the perpetrator. However, Mangione pleaded "not guilty." Viral discourse about the upcoming trials in New York and Pennsylvania spread on social media thereafter. Much of it was tied into a conspiracy theory that Luigi Mangione was not the shooter for a myriad of reasons. Some speculated that he was a fall guy or that the evidence was planted on him. Mangione's "not guilty" plea was corroborated by his Altoona, Pennsylvania defense attorney Tom Dickey, who held press conferences that went viral on social media amid his client's case. Mangione's lawyer for the New York and federal charges was Karen Friedman Agnifilo.

Background

On December 4th, 2024, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was assassinated in Midtown, Manhattan by an unidentified gunman.^[1] A few days later, on December 10th, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione was detained in Altoona, Pennsylvania for forgery and gun charges. On his person, police reportedly discovered a manifesto (which was later leaked on Substack^[2] by journalist Ken Klipperstein), a fake New Jersey ID and a firearm.^[3] Mangione was also wanted in New York in relation to the murder charge.^[4]

Mangione was denied bail in Pennsylvania. On December 11th, Mangione's Pennsylvania attorney, Tom Dickey, stated that Mangione would plead not guilty to the Pennsylvania charges and suggested he would do the same for the New York charges.^[4] Multiple mugshots and other photos of Mangione at the Pennsylvania detainment center surfaced online in the following days (shown below).

On December 10th, a video of Luigi Mangione being taken to his extradition hearing in Pennsylvania was shared on X^[5] by Ken Klippenstein. In the video, Mangione roughly shouts to the paparazzi, "This is completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people." The video received over 1.8 million views in a day (shown below). Other X^[6] accounts posted different angles, receiving more views and likes.

In Pennsylvania, Mangione opted not to fight his extradition to New York.^[9]

Tom Dickey

Later on December 10th, 2024, videos of Luigi Mangione's defense attorney Tom Dickey surfaced online. For instance, on the day, X^[7] user @okaycoolkatie posted a clip from a local news segment in which Dickey was addressing the press. In the video, Dickey claimed, "Wearing masks is not a crime," and that he's seen no evidence to infer that Mangione is the perp. The video received over 1.8 million views and 32,000 likes in a day (shown below).

Tom Dickey is a Blair County, Pennsylvania resident and attended Altoona High School. He was hired to represent Mangione for his charges in Pennsylvania.^[8]

Karen Friedman Agnifilo

Karen Friedman Agnifilo is the former Chief Assistant District Attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.^[11] She was hired as Mangione's defense attorney for his murder charge in New York.^[10]

The news of Agnifilo representing Mangione was publicized on social media sites like X^[12] on December 13th, 2024, like a tweet from @PopCrave that received over 153,000 likes in six days (shown below).

Married To Diddy's Lawyer

Viral discourse about Karen Friedman Agnifilo also surfaced when the New York Post,^[13] among other news outlets, reported on Agnifilo being married to Diddy's lawyer Marc Agnifilo.

On December 14th, 2024, X^[14] user @therapykiss777 quote tweeted the New York Post, joking, "Arrested Development levels of tying the plots together," receiving over 171,000 likes in five days (shown below).

Developments

"Act Of Terrorism" Charge

On December 17th, 2024, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg claimed that Brian Thompson’s death was "a killing that was intended to evoke terror. And we’ve seen that reaction," coinciding with a ruling that charged Luigi Mangione with murder as an act of terrorism.^[15] The news was notably spread by the X^[16] account @BNONews on December 17th, amassing over 27.9 million views and 5,700 likes in two days.

The aforementioned post inspired reactions, like one tweet posted by X^[17] user @TheJFreakinC on December 17th, 2024, reading, "So 'murdering one rich person' is terrorism, but killing a bunch of children is just a shooting. Got it," gaining over 368,000 likes in two days (shown below).

New York City Perp Walk

On December 19th, 2024, Luigi Mangione arrived in New York City for a federal court appearance.^[18] On the day, X^[19] user @Acyn, among others, tweeted CNN's broadcast of his arrival. Law enforcement conducted a "perp walk" for the press, including FBI, NYPD and NYC Mayor Eric Adams (shown below).

Multiple photographs of the perp walk went viral on social media, largely taken by Bloomberg and Getty Images photographers. One image showed Mangione in the center being escorted by law enforcement on all sides (shown below).^[20]

A cropped version of the abovementioned photo went viral on X^[21][22] across multiple posts. For instance, on December 19th, 2024, X^[23] user @skyler_higley tweeted the image, comparing it to the Donald Trump Raised Fist Photograph, writing, "When that Trump picture was supposedly the 'hardest image of the year' we couldn’t even conceive of this," gaining over 13,000 likes in a few hours (shown below).

Search Interest

External References