Overview

The Trial of Luigi Mangione refers to the upcoming trial(s) for 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, the suspected shooter in the Assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione was detained at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania related to the crime committed in New York City on December 4th, 2024. He was held without bail. At the time of his detainment, an alleged manifesto, a fake New Jersey ID and a gun were found on Mangione, leading law enforcement to believe he was the perpetrator. However, Mangione pleaded "not guilty." Viral discourse about an upcoming trial spread on social media thereafter. Much of it was tied into a theory that Luigi Mangione was not the shooter for a myriad of reasons. Some speculated that he was a fall guy or that evidence was planted on him. Mangione's "not guilty" plea was corroborated by his defense attorney Tom Dickey who held press conferences that went viral on social media amid his client's case.

Background

On December 4th, 2024, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was assassinated in Midtown, Manhattan by an unidentified gunman.^[1] A few days later, on December 10th, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione was detained in Altoona, Pennsylvania for forgery and gun charges. On his person, police reportedly discovered a manifesto (which was later leaked on Substack^[2] by journalist Ken Klipperstein), a fake New Jersey ID and a firearm.^[3] Mangione was also wanted in New York in relation to the murder charge.^[4]

Mangione was denied bail in Pennsylvania. On December 11th, Mangione's attorney, Tom Dickey, stated that Mangione would plead not guilty to the PA charges and suggested he would do the same for the NY charges.^[4] Multiple mugshots and other photos of Mangione the PA detainment center surfaced online in the following days (shown below).

On December 10th, a video of Luigi Mangione being taken to his extradition hearing in PA was shared on X^[6] by Ken Klippenstein. In the video, Mangione roughly shouts to the paparazzi, "This is completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people." The video received over 1.8 million views in a day (shown below). Other X^[7] accounts posted different angles, receiving more views and likes.

Luigi Mangione on his way to his extradition hearing shouts: "This is completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people" pic.twitter.com/GXSEGBuGpn

— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) December 10, 2024

Tom Dickey

Later on December 10th, 2024, videos of Luigi Mangione's defense attorney Tom Dickey started surfacing online. For instance, on the day, X^[7] user @okaycoolkatie posted a clip from a local news segment in which Dickey was addressing the press. In the video, Dickey claimed, "Wearing masks is not a crime," and that he's seen no evidence to infer that Mangione is the perp. The video received over 1.8 million views and 32,000 likes in a day (shown below).

“Wearing masks is not a crime” - New character (Luigi’s Lawyer) has emerged in America’s season finale. The casting is superb! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ pic.twitter.com/9DGhG93S8t

— Katherine (@okaycoolkatie) December 10, 2024

Online Reaction

Various Examples

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References