Luigi Mangiones journal not manifesto about healthcare industry grievances, attorney argues

Luigi Mangione’s defense attorney in Pennsylvania continues to argue that Altoona police unlawfully detained the murder suspect and searched his belongings when they identified him at a McDonald’s following a tip.Mangione, 26, is charged with first-degree murder in furtherance of an act of terrorism, stalking and a slew of other state and federal charges in both New York and Pennsylvania, for allegedly gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a married father of two, on a sidewalk in Manhattan in December 2024.Now his attorney says authorities’ use of the word “manifesto” to describe Mangione’s writings allegedly found in his backpack during his arrest on Dec.9 is “incorrect.”“The use of this characterization of the defendant’s alleged personal experiences and writings is incorrect, improper and without justification and has no probative value,” Altoona-based defense attorney Thomas Dickey said in a Tuesday court filing.

“Defendant believes that this characterization was done so solely for the purpose to prejudice the defendant and put him in a negative light before the public, all in an effort to prejudice any potential jury pool.”Mangione allegedly shot Thompson outside the Manhattan hotel where UnitedHealthcare’s annual shareholder conference was being held, in an act prosecutors believe was meant to send a message to the healthcare insurance industry based on a manifesto found on the suspect when he was arrested days after Thompson’s murder.In his writings, Mangione apparently expressed his grievances with the healthcare industry — specifically naming UnitedHealthcare and the shareholder conference where Thompson was headed in New York at the time of the assassination.Dickey is asking the court not to describe Mangione’s alleged writings as a “manifesto.”He is also asking the court to suppress various other evidence, including what Dickey describes as a warrantless search of the suspect’s backpack, statements mad...