Judge calls for evidence hearing in Luigi Mangione federal case

The judge in Luigi Mangione’s federal case on Monday ordered a hearing to probe whether Pennsylvania law enforcement followed local procedures while arresting Mangione at a McDonald’s in late 2024, reversing her previously stated view that the proceeding wasn’t necessary.

Mangione, 27, is accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan on Dec. 4, 2024. His arrest five days later in Altoona, Pennsylvania, has been the subject of scrutiny in both the state and federal criminal cases against him, including throughout a nine-day state court hearing in December.

In federal court Friday, Mangione’s attorneys argued that Altoona police overstepped by reading a journal in Mangione’s backpack at the time of his arrest.

U.S. District Judge Megan Garnett pointed out that the government didn’t rely on the journal’s contents in order to get the search warrant that did allow a full examination of Mangione’s backpack. But defense attorney Jacob Kaplan said the order of events was important: Altoona police took photographs of everything in Mangione’s backpack, then federal law enforcement reviewed those before getting the warrant.

“The court can’t jump to the final step,” argued Kaplan, of the firm Agnifilo Intrater.

On Friday, Garnett said, “At present, I don’t think a hearing is necessary,” but added she wanted to “give it additional thought.”

But by Monday, the judge had apparently changed her view, and she ordered the government to produce an Altoona Police Department officer “with sufficient authority and experience to testify about the established or standardized procedures in use by the department in December 2024 for securing, safeguarding, and, if applicable, inventorying the personal property of a person arrested in a public place.”

Because the inquiry will be focused on Altoona police procedures, the witness called does not need to have been involved in Mangione’s arrest, the judge said, adding that she expects the to-be-scheduled proceeding to be brief.

Garnett said the decision followed her consideration of the parties’ arguments as well as the seriousness of the federal charges Mangione faces. As it stands, two of the four counts against him are eligible for the death penalty, and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has said the feds intend to seek it. Mangione’s attorneys are fighting to get those counts dismissed.