{"id":39613,"date":"2025-09-17T01:58:33","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T01:58:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo4.dedicatedhost247.com\/news\/can-luigi-mangione-get-too-big-to-jail\/"},"modified":"2025-09-17T01:58:33","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T01:58:33","slug":"can-luigi-mangione-get-too-big-to-jail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo4.dedicatedhost247.com\/news\/can-luigi-mangione-get-too-big-to-jail\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Luigi Mangione get too big to jail?"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The first people in line on Tuesday, I was told, started camping out on the sidewalk two days ago. Luigi Mangione, the man accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024, was due in court at 9AM ET for a hearing in one of three concurrent criminal cases against him. And this time everyone was prepared for the mayhem: the signs, the fans, the livestreamers, the protests, the media circus. That\u2019s why the line started even earlier than last time \u2014 the people who really wanted to get in to see him knew that no time was too early.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Mangione is both ubiquitous and fleeting. The last time the public saw him (aside from a bizarre, unauthorized appearance in a men\u2019s shirt listing on Shein<\/a>) was in February at this same courthouse in Manhattan<\/a>, when hundreds of members of the general public and media convened for a routine pretrial hearing. He exists in memes, in passing references, and in content moderation decisions<\/a>, and he lives rent-free in the mind of Donald Trump<\/a> \u2014 yet most people are likely not thinking or talking about Mangione day to day. They are reminded of him when new photos drop or when there are incremental updates in the cases against him. But the wall-to-wall coverage of the case has waned, and it\u2019s the people who are the most tapped in that are working to keep interest in the case alive. Mangione and the larger discussions around healthcare reform are one item in a list of approximately 8,000 pressing topics swirling in the US. How do you keep attention and energy alive in an information ecosystem defined by its fragmentation?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Court officials and police seem to have learned their lesson from February: don\u2019t let a million people inside<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The hearing on Tuesday was much more eventful than the one in February: Mangione\u2019s team successfully got two terrorism-related charges tossed in the New York case, a development that supporters of his are celebrating. Given the magnitude of the news, the tempered atmosphere \u2014 and the smaller crowds \u2014 was noticeable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Court officials and police seem to have learned their lesson from February: don\u2019t let a million people inside. Instead of admitting members of the public to a hallway outside the courtroom where they could set up camp, the court kept most on the sidewalk.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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There are fewer people here than in February, but in some ways the supporters and frenzy are even more fervent. Mason Alexander, who told The Verge<\/em> he\u2019d been one of the few to make it inside the courtroom for the first hearing, arrived at 11PM the night before and was 25th in line, meaning he wouldn\u2019t get a spot the second time. Some in line have numbers written on the backs of their hands, which I later am told are not part of any official numbering system from the courthouse but were the work of an attendee walking around with a marker, trying to bring order to the line.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe case just resonated with me,\u201d Alexander says, explaining why he showed up. \u201cObviously what he allegedly did isn\u2019t something to be cheered about, but I think it was beneficial in the way that it put a spotlight on [the healthcare system issue] that I think is probably the most important in the country, and how much it affects everyday people. It got people talking.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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People Over Profit NYC<\/a>, a grassroots healthcare reform group with a focus on Mangione\u2019s case, again organized a rally outside. A giant homemade spinning wheel has slots reading \u201cAPPROVED\u201d and \u201cDENIED\u201d \u2014 spin the wheel to learn the fate of your insurance claim. There are Luigi hats, keychains, DIY T-shirts, flyers about local healthcare legislation. When I arrive shortly after 8AM, reporters and news crews outnumber rally attendees \u2014 there are fewer people here, too, than six months ago.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A POPNYC rally attendee who asked to remain anonymous, citing the current political climate, says \u201cprotest fatigue\u201d could be a reason attendance dipped (the early morning timeslot also may have contributed).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI think people are just tired, and they just want to either ignore what\u2019s going on or just give up,\u201d the attendee says. \u201cThat\u2019s why we\u2019re out here, to let them know we\u2019re still here. Even if you\u2019re tired, we\u2019ll still go on. And maybe they\u2019ll join us next time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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There\u2019s also the unavoidable reality that the hearing is happening a week after right-wing provocateur Charlie Kirk was killed at a public event in Utah. Though the two cases are not obviously connected, there\u2019s been a swift and brutal crackdown<\/a> from the American right wing, directed at anyone who is deemed to be \u201ccelebrating\u201d Kirk\u2019s murder. Private and in some cases innocuous social media posts are being used<\/a> to report people to employers or dox them. It\u2019s not surprising that Mangione supporters may be reluctant to be photographed at a rally for him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It\u2019s hard enough to keep major events and causes in the news, but Mangione\u2019s case has unique, complicating factors. The central character \u2014 who many see as sympathetic \u2014 is accused of stalking and shooting Thompson point-blank (Mangione has pleaded not guilty). UnitedHealth Group has waged an all-out attack on critics<\/a>, targeting filmmakers, social media users, and news outlets. Tech companies are working to moderate Mangione-related content<\/a>, though some supporters complain that their content and accounts are being taken down without explanation. There is also the general specter of violence<\/a> that clouds current US political discourse. It\u2019s never a good time to be an alleged assassin, but especially not now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Part of what makes the Brian Thompson murder case so strange is the way most people consume and follow it: through the hundreds of photos and videos of Mangione looking \u201chot.\u201d Mangione\u2019s overlapping and high-stakes legal battle is relayed to the public via new photos of him; it obfuscates both the seriousness of the crime and charges, as well as the punishment he faces if convicted. There is a clear tonal disconnect in coverage of the case: the Daily Mail <\/em>is both running stories<\/a> about the \u201csick\u201d fans that support him and posting 29-photo slideshows to TikTok<\/a> that are a collection of Mangione\u2019s face from every possible angle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On Tuesday, Mangione wore a khaki prison outfit instead of street clothes. He was once again shackled at the ankles, wrists, and waist \u2014 something his attorneys have complained about. As we waited for him to enter, another reporter remarked that it felt a bit like a wedding: the press and two dozen or so members of the public kept glancing back at the slightest of noises, like we were waiting for a bride to walk down the aisle. A supporter who managed to get into the courtroom, who asked to be named as SAS, later told me she could hear his shackles before she saw him. Some online commenters described him as looking \u201cpale,\u201d \u201cskinny,\u201d and like he had been \u201ccrying a lot.\u201d (I\u2019m not really seeing this, personally.) After both hearings, there\u2019s been a lot of reading into Mangione\u2019s demeanor \u2014 but the truth is that the court dates have been exceedingly normal and professional. There is no deeper personality or psychology to be gleaned from being inside a room with him for 20 minutes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The most significant development from Tuesday\u2019s hearing brought good news for Mangione: Judge Gregory Carro, who is overseeing the New York state case against Mangione, dropped two major terrorism-related charges<\/a> in what is seen as a major win for the defense. The state argued that Thompson\u2019s murder was meant to \u201cintimidate or coerce a civilian population,\u201d but Carro found the claims to be \u201clegally insufficient.\u201d Carro says in essence that under New York law, the alleged \u201cideological\u201d motive doesn\u2019t fit the definition of terrorism.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As Carro announced that he was dropping the terrorism charges, a few supporters in the courtroom audibly reacted<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe court agrees with the defendant that the [state] appear[s] to conflate an ideological belief with the intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population,\u201d Carro writes. \u201cWhile the defendant was clearly expressing an animus toward UHC, and the health care industry generally, it does not follow that his goal was to \u2018intimidate and coerce a civilian population,\u2019 and indeed, there was no evidence presented of such a goal.\u201d Mangione still faces charges of second-degree murder in the New York state case.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As Carro announced that he was dropping the terrorism charges, a few supporters in the courtroom audibly reacted \u2014 a faint exclamation, maybe even a gentle clap, that drew a scolding from a guard.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On other motions, Mangione\u2019s defense was less successful. Mangione is facing three concurrent cases: the one in New York, a separate state case in Pennsylvania, and a federal case. Mangione\u2019s defense team has argued that the state and federal cases happening at the same time amounts to double jeopardy: the US Constitution bars defendants from being prosecuted for the same crime twice. Carro rejected the double jeopardy argument. Mangione\u2019s lawyers have also argued<\/a> that the federal case against him \u2014 which carries the possibility of the death penalty \u2014 should proceed before the state case. On Tuesday, Carro denied Mangione\u2019s request to put the state case on hold. The next hearing in the state case is scheduled for December 1st. Mangione is due in court for the federal case a few days later.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Luigi Mangione\u2019s fate and his public persona are inextricably linked. Widespread and sustained attention on his case depends on how often he can get in front of people through their digital feeds. The windows of opportunity to grab attention and deeper public engagement are limited because he is making public court appearances only once every several months. The public spectacle of the case is ever-present: Mangione\u2019s attorneys have written at length<\/a> objecting to him being shackled during court appearances that are then photographed and shared, saying they are \u201cdeeply prejudicial\u201d and damaging to his right to a fair trial.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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One avenue Mangione supporters have been pursuing is around jury nullification, when a jury acquits even if it believes a defendant committed a crime (in February, a truck with an LED billboard on the side showing jury nullification information circled the courthouse<\/a> during the hearing). But even that relies on a massive public outreach campaign in an era of short attention spans and a fractured media ecosystem.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As I wrote in February<\/a>, a cycle is beginning to take shape: One day Mangione is all we see on social media. The next he is gone. Rinse and repeat. While I was in court with my phone tucked away, friends texted me about new Luigi photos, just as they did six months ago. Is becoming a meme \u2014 no matter how beloved or reviled \u2014 enough to have your life spared? The stakes couldn\u2019t be higher, and the culture couldn\u2019t be more fickle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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