Luigi Mangione case: DOJ demands potential death penalty stay on table for accused assassin

Justice Department lawyers pushed backmost connected a bid of arguments from accused assassin Luigi Mangione's defence squad — countering that his challenges to the imaginable decease punishment person failed repeatedly successful beforehand of national courts for decades.

Mangione tin inactive person a just proceedings with the authorities seeking the decease penalty, national prosecutors argued successful a 144-page "omnibus opposition" filed Friday.

"Publicity — adjacent aggravated — is not caller successful this district," Sean Buckley, an lawyer for the national government, wrote to the judge. "Courts routinely effort precocious visibility cases here, with robust prophylaxis against spillover prejudice, including written juror questionnaires probing media exposure, individualized and sequestered voir dire, instructions forbidding media consumption, sequestration of witnesses, and targeted admonitions."

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Luigi Mangione appears successful Manhattan Supreme Court for a proceeding successful the execution lawsuit filed against him for allegedly sidesplitting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson connected Sept. 16, 2025. (Curtis Means for DailyMail/Pool)

The monolithic filing served arsenic an absorption to a slew of challenges Mangione's defence raised successful September and October — against the decease penalty, against the government's announcement of intent to question the decease punishment and against Mangione's national indictment.

Buckley called immoderate of the defence arguments premature, speculative and unsupported by evidence.

Law enforcement has methodically and purposefully trampled his law rights by interrogating him without Miranda warnings successful usurpation of the Fifth Amendment and illegally searching his spot without a warrant successful usurpation of the Fourth Amendment.

"The defence motions person small to nary accidental of success, and are much to sphere the arguments and rise issues connected entreaty if Mangione is sentenced to death," said Neama Rahmani, a Los Angeles proceedings lawyer and erstwhile national prosecutor.

Mangione is accused successful the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was changeable successful the backmost connected video extracurricular a Manhattan edifice connected Dec. 4, 2024, arsenic helium walked to an capitalist league that was expected to commencement aboriginal that morning.

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Luigi Mangione allegedly killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (AP Photo/UnitedHealth Group via AP)

Mangione faces charges successful New York authorities and astatine the national level successful transportation with the execution — successful summation to different acceptable of charges successful Pennsylvania successful transportation with the fake ID and amerciable handgun constabulary accidental they recovered successful his possession erstwhile they arrested him astatine a McDonald's successful Altoona.

But lone the national lawsuit carries the imaginable decease penalty, and Buckley argued that the Justice Department would beryllium acting wrong longstanding ineligible precedent successful seeking it if Mangione is convicted.

"What the suspect recasts arsenic a law situation is simply a repackaging of arguments that controlling precedent has repeatedly rejected, and nary warrants dismissal of the indictment oregon categorical preclusion of a congressionally authorized punishment," helium wrote.

UNITEDHEALTHCARE CEO MURDER SUSPECT LUIGI MANGIONE INDICTED IN NEW YORK

A screenshot from surveillance footage released by the NYPD shows an alleged idiosyncratic of involvement wanted successful transportation with the shooting decease of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson successful Midtown Manhattan connected Wednesday, December 4, 2024.   (NYPD Crime Stoppers )

Mangione's defence is warring connected aggregate fronts. Earlier this year, his squad succeeded successful having a New York justice propulsion retired panic charges astatine the authorities level.

In the national case, his lawyers person asked the justice to disregard charges of execution done usage of a firearm and stalking successful his national indictment — and to person the imaginable decease punishment taken disconnected the table. In the New York and national cases, they are asking the courts to suppress documents seized from his backpack during his apprehension arsenic good arsenic statements helium made earlier receiving a Miranda warning.

"Law enforcement has methodically and purposefully trampled his law rights by interrogating him without Miranda warnings successful usurpation of the Fifth Amendment and illegally searching his spot without a warrant successful usurpation of the Fourth Amendment," Mangione lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo wrote to a New York justice Tuesday.

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Mangione's lawyers person argued that the hunt of his belongings without a warrant during his apprehension astatine a Pennsylvania McDonald's was unlawful. (Southern District of New York)

Buckley countered that the defence statement against those charges is legally flawed, the backpack hunt would person taken spot regardless, and the lone pre-Miranda connection prosecutors program to usage against him is erstwhile helium allegedly lied astir his sanction successful effect to a question that did not necessitate the Miranda warning.

According to tribunal filings, 1 of the information concerns officers connected country had was that determination mightiness beryllium a weaponry successful the bag, which she ruled retired aft searching it, according to prosecutors.

"Mangione’s apprehension was valid and the hunt of his backpack was lawful arsenic a hunt incidental to apprehension oregon an inventory search," Rahmani told Fox News Digital. "Prosecutors person the discretion to question the decease punishment and the defence arguments astir pretrial publicity tainting the assemblage excavation and treble jeopardy due to the fact that determination are parallel authorities and national prosecutions person been recycled and rejected by appellate courts for decades."

Thompson, 50, was a begetter of 2 from Minnesota. He was visiting New York City for an capitalist league astatine the clip of his murder.

Judge Margaret Garnett has not yet ruled connected Mangione's motions.

Luigi Mangione enters the courtroom successful New York City Criminal Court connected Monday, December 23, 2024. Mangione was arraigned connected authorities charges for the alleged execution of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)

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She did, however, assistance his petition to deterioration civilian covering to an upcoming proceeding connected the matter.

Mangione is owed backmost successful authorities tribunal Monday.

"The remaining arguments are mitigation for jurors oregon the DOJ’s superior lawsuit reappraisal committee to consider, not thing that a justice tin usage to onslaught the decease punishment astatine this signifier of the proceedings," Rahmani said. "Bottom enactment is, determination is nary nutrient connected the bone, but this is what defence attorneys successful superior cases are expected to bash to effort to prevention their client’s life."