Judge Tosses Evidence Against Luigi Mangione

A New York court on Monday blocked prosecutors from using some evidence obtained from Luigi Mangione’s backpack in his upcoming murder trial.

Altoona, Pennsylvania, police unlawfully searched Mangione’s backpack without a warrant while questioning him at a McDonald’s in December 2024 over UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s murder that month in New York City, New York Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro said in a Monday ruling. The prohibited evidence includes a gun magazine, cellphone, passport, wallet and computer chip.

Prosecutors can, however, use a journal found in the backpack at the police’s headquarters after his arrest, Carro ruled.

Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office and Mangione’s legal team did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.

Mangione is accused of following and gunning down Thompson on a Manhattan street and leaving behind a bullet and shell casings with the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” written on them. Thompson’s murder became a leftist symbol for outrage against America’s health care system and wealthy institutions.

A McDonald’s employee recognized Mangione sitting at the restaurant after authorities put out public information on a manhunt for him, prompting cops to arrive and question Mangione, court records say.

“As [an officer] approached the table where the backpack was, he asked [Mangione] if there was anything in the bag they needed to know about,” Carro said, summarizing the police encounter. “Defendant responded that he was ‘just going to remain silent.’ [Officers] then proceeded to search the defendant’s backpack.”

The details of the search do not fit any “exigent circumstances” that would legally allow a warrantless search under the Fourteenth Amendment, Carro ruled.

Mangione also faces a federal murder case and state-level Pennsylvania charges related to his December 2024 arrest. He secured another legal win in January when a Biden-appointed federal judge ruled that he would not face the possibility of the death penalty despite the Trump administration’s push for it.