Luigi Mangione Judge Rebukes Justice Department Over Comments

The federal judge presiding over Luigi Mangione’s death penalty case warned Justice Department officials to stop making statements that link him to “left-wing” extremism, saying there could be punishments for future comments.

US District Judge Margaret Garnett issued the directive Wednesday after Mangione’s lawyers complained that top government officials, including President Donald Trump, made comments that violate rules that bar out of court statements that interfere with a fair trial.

Mangione, 27, is accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive Brian Thompson in December outside a midtown Manhattan hotel. The ruling comes as Mangione’s lawyers try to prevent prosecutors from seeking the death penalty in the federal case, arguing that comments by administration officials have improperly linked him to other recent acts of political violence, such as the murder of Charlie Kirk in Utah.

Luigi Mangione arrives for a pretrial hearing at New York State Supreme Court on Sept. 16.

Photographer: Steven Hirsch/New York Post/Bloomberg

“The attempts to connect Mr. Mangione with these incidents and paint him as a ‘left wing’ violent extremist are false, prejudicial, and part of a greater political narrative that has no place in any criminal case, especially one where the death penalty is at stake,” Mangione’s lawyers said in a court filing.

Garnett directed prosecutors in the case to advise Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and other top Justice Department officials that “future violations may result in sanctions, which could include personal financial penalties, contempt of court findings, or relief specific to the prosecution of this matter.”

The Justice Department and Nick Biase, a spokesman for Manhattan US Attorney Jay Clayton, declined to comment. Mangione, who has pleaded not guilty, also faces New York state murder charges.

The judge also ordered the government to give her a sworn declaration that explains “how these violations occurred despite the court’s April 25 order, and what steps are being taken to ensure that no further violations occur.”

Trump appeared on Fox News on Sept. 18 and said Mangione “shot someone in the back as clear as you’re looking at me...he shot him right in the middle of the back—instantly dead,” Mangione’s lawyers said in a letter to the court late Tuesday.

That comment was then posted on X by a “White House-affiliated account,” then re-posted by an account belonging to Chad Gilmartin, Deputy Director of the Justice Department’s office of public affairs, which stated “@POTUS is absolutely right” according to Mangione’s team. Brian Nieves, the Associate Deputy Attorney General, later re-posted the statement.

On Sept. 22, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called Mangione a “left-wing assassin” at a press briefing and the next day, Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, called Mangione an “anti-fascist” during a Fox News appearance.

(Adds that DOJ declined to comment.)

--With assistance from David Voreacos.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Patricia Hurtado in Federal Court in Manhattan at pathurtado@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou at megkolfopoul@bloomberg.net

Anthony Aarons

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