Editor’s note: This is Day 1 of JURIST’s coverage of Mangione’s suppression hearings. Read Day 2 here.

The New York State case against Luigi Mangione, suspect of the December 4, 2024 shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, saw its first evidentiary suppression hearing on Monday. The high-stakes hearings are expected to last approximately five days in total, and prosecutors said they may call close to 30 witnesses. The trial is expected to commence next year.

Mangione faces a nine-count indictment in the New York state case, including second-degree murder, for which he faces a maximum of 25 years to life, and multiple weapons offenses. He pleaded not guilty to all charges in December 2024. Originally indicted on 11 counts, Mangione had two charges dismissed on September 16—first-degree murder as an act of terrorism, and second-degree murder related to killing as an act of terrorism.

As I stood outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse in a frigid plaza, esteemed author Vicky Ward mistakenly spilled her drink on my heels as we discussed her upcoming book on Luigi Mangione. Such are the woes of courtroom reporting—but necessary, as Mangione was back in court.

Inside the courtroom, Mangione entered through the side door, wearing a dark charcoal suit and maroon checked button-down shirt. His attire followed his defense team’s motion to allow him to wear civilian clothing for the duration of the suppression hearings. He was also unshackled at the wrists once at the defense table.

Mangione’s demeanor was collected as he casually leaned to his left and right for much of the nearly six-hour hearing. He broke into smiles several times throughout the day, frequently twirling his pen in his right hand.

As I observed the hearing, Mangione’s defense lawyer sought to bar key evidence from being introduced in his New York state trial. In May 2025, defense counsel had moved to suppress evidence found during what they argue was a warrantless search —a violation, they contend, of the constitutional protection against unreasonable government searches—including a backpack Mangione was wearing at the time of his arrest in Altoona, Pennsylvania, at a McDonald’s restaurant. Authorities alleged that the backpack contained a notebook with handwritten entries, a 3D-printed pistol equipped with a loaded Glock magazine, and a homemade firearm suppressor. Mangione’s defense lawyer also moved to suppress statements Mangione had allegedly made to law enforcement, citing Miranda rights violations.

Proceedings began by calling the first witness, New York Police Department (NYPD) Sergeant Chris McLaughlin. McLaughlin is the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information (DCPI) and a press liaison responsible for providing the footage and pictures of the UnitedHealthcare suspect.

The defense lawyer objected to the images being shown in the courtroom, arguing that they were not relevant to the suppression hearing, which Judge Carro overruled.

The court viewed photos of the suspect that were disseminated to the public, along with a full surveillance video showing the suspect shooting Brian Thompson twice.

Karen Friedman Agnifilo requested a replay of a Fox News video that NYPD Crime Stoppers had released and noted, “there is a statistic there [at the bottom of the screen] that more than 1,600 people have been shot in New York City.”

She then asked the witness, “how many of those did you publish…Is it true that you only did it in this case…because of who was shot?”

The prosecutor challenged the question’s relevance, and Judge Carro agreed.

The next two witnesses were Pennsylvania-based Bernard Byles and Emily States. Byles formerly worked at ADI Distribution, the company that managed the Altoona McDonald’s surveillance system. States was the 911 operator who received the call from the McDonald’s manager reporting a male on the premises after customers complained that he appeared “suspicious” and “like the CEO shooter in New York.”

The court heard a previously unreleased recording of the manager’s call, in which she said, “Customers walked up to me, and I sa[id], I can’t really do anything… He’s wearing a black sweater jacket with a medical mask and a tan beanie, like a blue medical mask.”

I later approached famed courtroom sketch artist Christine Cornell during the midday break to compliment her work. She is renowned within the legal profession for her courtroom sketches of some of the most high-profile cases over the last 50 years, including the Central Park Five trials, mafioso John Gotti trials, Trump trials, Diddy trial, and the Mangione matter.

Witness four was corrections officer Thomas Rivers of SCI Huntingdon, a Pennsylvania state correctional institution where Mangione stayed after his arrest at the McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Rivers testified that he and Mangione discussed Mangione’s alleged travels to Vietnam and Thailand, to which Karen Friedman Agnifilo asked, “Are you sure he said Vietnam?” Rivers replied, “yes,” after which Karen Friedman Agnifilo commented, “interesting.” The defense’s questioning could indicate that Mangione’s alleged travels become a question of fact at trial, if ruled admissible.

Later, Rivers alleged that they discussed healthcare and the differences between opportunities for people in developing countries compared to the West. Rivers continued that they talked about developing countries’ “level of suffering that we don’t have here…and how they tend to be happier than people in the West.”

Rivers also confirmed that SCI Huntingdon typically does not have pretrial detainees, and he alleged that he “had no interest in this case.” When asked why, Rivers stated flatly, “I didn’t care,” prompting Mangione to slightly lean forward and produce a wide grin and laugh. Rivers then claimed that Mangione was placed on constant watch, a designation issued for inmates who are threats to themselves so that there is a record of their actions and behaviors. When asked why, Rivers stated that he “was told that SCI Huntingdon did not want an Epstein-type situation.” Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his jail cell in 2019, reportedly by suicide, following well-documented jail oversight failures.

According to Rivers, Mangione told him that he had been “disappointed” about being compared to Ted Kaczynski because “someone saw that he reviewed Ted Kaczynski’s book on Goodreads.” Kaczynski, known as the “Unabomber,” was a domestic terrorist who carried out a bombing campaign across the United States for nearly two decades.

Rivers also claimed that he and Mangione discussed literature, including that of George Orwell and Henry David Thoreau. He further testified that Mangione recommended he read “The Doors of Perception” by Aldous Huxley, an autobiographical book on psychedelics.

Karen Friedman Agnifilo then questioned Rivers on statements he potentially made regarding Mangione. “You don’t remember telling prosecutors that Mr. Mangione started talking about the media and how the media was perceiving him [to you]?” she pressed Rivers. The question seemed to perturb the otherwise composed defendant, as Mangione immediately put his head in his hand before swiftly resting his face back on two fingers, never breaking from his casual left-leaning stance.

Karen Friedman Agnifilo further asked Rivers if Mangione told him that he was “upset” that law enforcement was “leaking information.”

The prosecution immediately objected, which was sustained, prompting Karen Friedman Agnifilo to counter, “your honor, there is a basis for asking this,” she stated, before Judge Carro called for a sidebar.

After a brief sidebar, Karen Friedman Agnifilo restated the question, asking Rivers if he recalled Mangione saying “law enforcement was leaking things and attributed them to him.”

Rivers answered no, and that he did not have clear memory of the conversation because it was “casual” and occurred “one year ago.”

The fifth witness was corrections officer Matt Henry, also of SCI Huntingdon. Henry made the bombshell claim that Mangione told him that he had “a pistol that was 3D printed,” after which Mangione shook his head emphatically no and furrowed his eyebrows.

On cross-examination, Marc Agnifilo pressed, “out of nowhere, [Mangione] says to you, I had a 3D printed pistol?”

Henry responded, “forced conversation.”

Judge Carro is expected to issue rulings anywhere from a few days to several months after the suppression hearings conclude.