By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- A Manhattan judge unsealed police body camera footage Friday from Luigi Mangione’s Dec. 9, 2024, arrest at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s, five days after the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
- CNN had petitioned for the footage’s release; portions were previously shown during a December court hearing when Mangione’s attorneys unsuccessfully sought to suppress evidence from the arrest.
- The video shows officers questioning Mangione, who initially gave a false name using a fraudulent New Jersey driver’s license before providing his real identity.
- Footage also shows officers recovering a 9mm handgun, a silencer, an additional ammunition magazine and a notebook from Mangione’s backpack during the arrest.
- Mangione pleaded guilty in August to federal stalking charges and faces life in prison at his December sentencing; separate New York state murder charges remain postponed indefinitely as his attorneys seek to have that case dismissed.
NEW YORK — Police body camera footage released Friday shows the arrest of Luigi Mangione at a central Pennsylvania McDonald’s in connection with the December 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, according to the Associated Press.
A Manhattan judge unsealed the videos after CNN petitioned for their release. Portions had previously been shown during a December court hearing when Mangione’s lawyers unsuccessfully argued to have key evidence — including his initial statements to police and items seized at his arrest — thrown out.
The footage, from Mangione’s Dec. 9, 2024, arrest in Altoona, Pennsylvania, shows officers responding to a report of a suspicious person and finding Mangione seated at a table wearing a ski hat, surgical mask and winter coat. Officers asked for his name and identification; Mangione initially presented a fraudulent New Jersey driver’s license under the name Mark Rosario before providing his real name after being warned he could face a false-identification charge. “I clearly shouldn’t have” lied, Mangione told officers, according to the footage.
Additional video shows officers patting Mangione down, reading him his rights and transporting him to the police station. During a more thorough search, officers recovered a 9mm handgun, later confirmed as the weapon used in Thompson’s killing, along with a silencer, an additional ammunition magazine and handwritten notes, including a notebook prosecutors say detailed Mangione’s intent to target a health insurance executive.
Mangione pleaded guilty in August to federal stalking charges and faces life in prison when he is sentenced in December. He also faces murder charges in New York state court, though those proceedings have been postponed indefinitely as his attorneys seek to have the case dismissed.