Arrest photos of Luigi Mangione, the accused UnitedHealthcare CEO assassin, released in court documents show him eating at a McDonald’s before his capture. The images, taken from bodycam video, depict Mangione in a corner of the restaurant, wearing a medical mask, and interacting with officers as he is placed in handcuffs. His defense team is contesting the legality of evidence collection during his arrest, arguing that officers improperly searched his backpack and questioned him without reading his Miranda rights.
The Justice Department, however, counters that the search was justified due to safety concerns, stating that only a pre-Miranda statement — where Mangione allegedly lied about his name — could be used in court. Mangione, 50, was a Minnesota father of two who was in New York City for an investor conference at the time of the murder. Surveillance video shows him walking outside a Manhattan hotel on his way to the conference when a masked man approached from behind and opened fire.
Mangione allegedly fled on a bicycle before taking a bus out of town, and was eventually arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after customers at a McDonald’s recognized him from a wanted poster. They called police, who arrested him at the scene and recovered the murder weapon from his bag, along with writings critical of the healthcare industry. His legal team has rejected the term ‘manifesto’ to describe his journals, instead calling the material ‘journal entries’ or ‘notes.’ While some supporters have framed him as an anti-capitalist crusader, his stops at a Manhattan Starbucks and the Pennsylvania McDonald’s were key in his capture, according to prosecutors.
The DOJ claims Mangione meticulously planned the murder, intending to ignite a public discussion about the healthcare industry. Prosecutors allege he travelled to New York to find Thompson, a Minnesota resident attending UnitedHealthcare’s investor conference, and kill him with a 3D-printed ghost gun and suppressor. The case has sparked significant legal and public debate, with Mangione’s defense challenging the evidence’s integrity and his supporters advocating for jury nullification in his upcoming trial.