Luigi Mangione Seeks to Block Diary From Jury in Manhattan Hearing

Luigi Mangione is scheduled to appear in Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday for a hearing on whether jurors in his state prosecution may be shown a diary prosecutors say documents an alleged plot to kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Prosecutors say entries from a red notebook recovered from Mangione’s backpack after his arrest describe fantasies about killing the executive to draw attention to the healthcare industry. Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to charges including murder as an act of terrorism in the Dec. 4, 2024, shooting of Thompson on a Midtown sidewalk.

The hearing will address competing legal claims over evidence seized from the backpack Pennsylvania authorities recovered in Altoona, where police say they captured Mangione following a five-day manhunt. Officers reported finding a red notebook, a partially 3D-printed pistol, zip ties and rolls of duct tape. Manhattan prosecutors want jurors to see the notebook; Mangione’s lawyers seek to suppress its contents, arguing the Pennsylvania search was conducted without a warrant and violated his constitutional rights.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office has said the notebook is probative to proving the state’s allegation that the killing was an act of terrorism. A diary entry prosecutors obtained and cite in court papers, dated Oct. 22, allegedly includes the passage: “The point is made in the news headline Insurance CEO killed at annual investors conference,” and refers to the intended victim as a “greedy bastard,” according to prosecutors.

Mangione’s attorneys have also requested that the judge stay the state case until a separate federal prosecution is resolved. Federal authorities have charged Mangione in connection with the same killing, and that case carries a possible death-penalty exposure. Defense lawyers argued in filings that revealing trial strategy to the Manhattan prosecutors could “compromise” Mangione’s position in the pending federal proceedings.

The state and federal cases raise intertwined procedural questions. Prosecutors in Manhattan have pressed the defense to disclose whether it intends to mount an insanity or other mental-condition defense — a disclosure that can affect pretrial rulings — and in recent filings accused the defense of missing a deadline to do so. Defense lawyers contend revealing such a strategy now would prejudice Mangione’s federal defense.

The hearing, set for about 9:30 a.m. at 100 Centre St., will also give Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Gregory Carro an opportunity to set a trial date in the state case. Prosecutors have characterized the December killing as a brazen attack committed in broad daylight on the day of UnitedHealthcare’s investor conference. Court filings describe Brian Thompson as a father of two; Thompson was President and Chief Executive Officer of UnitedHealthcare.

Mangione, a University of Pennsylvania graduate who grew up in a well-known Baltimore family, has pleaded not guilty to murder and related charges. Authorities have said he has expressed admiration for Ted Kaczynski, the domestic terrorist known as the Unabomber. Defense and prosecution filings indicate the notebook and other items recovered after his arrest are central to both the factual and legal disputes pending before the court.

If the judge admits the notebook into evidence, prosecutors are expected to argue the entries demonstrate motive and premeditation. If the judge suppresses the material on Fourth Amendment grounds, prosecutors would lose what they say is a key piece of evidence linking Mangione to the alleged plan. The defense has argued that excluding the items is necessary to preserve Mangione’s constitutional protections.

The case has drawn intense public attention because of the high-profile victim, the manner of the killing and the legal complexities created by parallel state and federal prosecutions. Mangione faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole on the state terrorism charge if convicted; the federal case could carry a different sentence range, including the possibility of capital punishment.

Tuesday’s hearing will focus on legal thresholds for admitting or excluding evidence and on scheduling. Both sides are expected to argue issues central to the trials’ course, including admissibility of the notebook, the circumstances of the Pennsylvania search, and whether the state prosecution should pause until the federal matter is resolved.