Luigi Mangione appeared Monday at Manhattan federal court for a pretrial hearing in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Parties were expected to discuss juror questionnaires and jury selection during the proceedings, according to multiple news reports.
Mangione faces murder and weapons charges in his state-level case and stalking counts in the federal proceedings related to the Dec. 4, 2024, shooting of Thompson on a New York City street. He has pleaded not guilty in both cases.
In the state case overseen by Judge Gregory Carro, Mangione’s defense team recently withdrew what is known as a 250.10 notice — a formal declaration of intent to mount an affirmative psychiatric defense. The notice had been filed after a sealed June 3 hearing at which lead attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo discussed the implications of the defense strategy.
Judge Carro said on June 17 that Mangione’s lawyers planned to invoke an “extreme emotional disturbance at the time of the occurrence” defense and ordered the defense to disclose to prosecutors what “mental defect” Mangione allegedly suffered during the shooting. Carro said he would unseal the record from the closed-door hearing, a proceeding he had held without entertaining arguments from the press or public for access.
A transcript unsealed June 18 revealed Agnifilo’s assessment of the defense during the June 3 hearing.
“As you know, your honor, if a defendant goes with an EED defense, they’re essentially admitting publicly that they committed this crime,” Agnifilo said.
Shortly after the transcript was unsealed, a letter from Mangione’s defense indicated the withdrawal of the 250.10 notice. Carro said the withdrawal meant his prior sealing order would stand.
The procedural shift does not necessarily end the possibility of a mental-distress argument, according to a legal expert who has mounted several extreme emotional disturbance defenses. The 250.10 notice requires the defense to share psychiatric information, including expert assessments, with prosecutors. Even without the formal notice, the expert said, Mangione’s attorneys could still seek to show mental distress at trial — potentially by putting Mangione on the stand or by using prosecutors’ evidence to demonstrate severe unwellness — in an effort to secure a manslaughter verdict over a murder conviction.
Thompson’s killing prompted an extensive manhunt and renewed public attention on dissatisfaction with the U.S. for-profit healthcare system. Mangione has attracted a small but vocal contingent of supporters known as “Mangionistas.”