On Monday, a federal judge changed his mind and decided there should be a hearing to determine whether Luigi Mangione’s backpack was legally seized and searched during his arrest in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
Judge Margaret Garnett said she considered “both the arguments presented by counsel” during a hearing Friday and “the seriousness of the charges the defendant faces” in deciding to hold the evidentiary hearing after previously saying the hearing was unnecessary.
Luigi Mangione appears at an evidence suppression hearing into the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan Criminal Court on December 18, 2025 in New York City.
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The brief hearing should include testimony from an Altoona police officer about the department’s procedures for securing, safeguarding and inventorying the personal property of a person arrested in a public place, the judge said. He noted that it was not necessary for the witness to be one of the dozen officers involved in Mangione’s arrest.
Several Altoona officers testified during a three-week hearing in state court where Mangione is seeking to exclude evidence police seized from his backpack, including the alleged murder weapon, a notebook and writings.
Luigi Mangione appears during a pre-trial suppression hearing at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on December 16, 2025.
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Defense attorneys are also trying to remove those elements from the federal case, which could result in a possible death sentence if Mangione is convicted. He has pleaded not guilty in both courts.
Mangione is accused of stalking and killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a New York City sidewalk in 2024.
