Luigi Mangione’s September trial will use an anonymous jury after Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro ruled Tuesday on the case logistics.
Mangione, 28, has pleaded not guilty to several state charges in connection with the December 2024 fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside the New York Hilton Midtown.
Carro said there would be expanded press and public access to the trial, and after fielding complaints from Mangione’s defense team about potential space limitations, court administrators arranged for an overflow room.
The anonymous jury ruling is becoming increasingly more common in high-profile court cases in New York.
Judges often decide to shield jurors’ identities from the public in high-profile cases where there is concern jurors may be subject to harassment or intimidation.
The anonymous designation came after prosecutors raised concerns about Mangione’s supporters.
Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann wrote in a letter to Judge Carro: “The media attention surrounding this case — and the efforts of some of defendant’s supporters both to intimidate witnesses and to interfere with the functioning of the jury — will place extraordinary pressure on witnesses and potential jurors alike.”
Prosecutors also claimed that court officers would face difficulty enforcing courthouse rules in an overflow room, saying: “We are particularly concerned about the possibility that a spectator in an overflow courtroom will clandestinely record the proceedings and share any such recordings with others. That concern will only be heightened if the overflow room includes a video feed as well as an audio feed.”
More than 80 media organizations have signaled plans to cover the trial.
Carro noted that accommodations for the media will mean less room for members of the public in the actual courtroom, but they’ll still have access to the proceedings.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Carro admonished the defense claims about media access, calling them “reckless mischaracterizations” and “without merit.”
In letters submitted ahead of the hearing, Mangione’s attorneys questioned whether the court and prosecutors were restricting trial access to the press and the public.
Manhattan prosecutors, led by Joel Seidemann, responded in an August 3 letter, calling the defense’s claims that prosecutors had something to do with the media plan “baseless,” denying that the District Attorney’s Office played any part in developing the court’s media plan.
The courtroom was filled with journalists and some Mangione proponents, who were wearing green, a color that appeared to reference the Luigi character from the iconic Nintendo Super Mario games and subsequent movies.
Mangione entered the courtroom at around 9:45 a.m. wearing a gray suit and light pink collared shirt, with his hands cuffed in front of him, and he muttered to himself and scanned the gallery.
When asked about the overflow room, Carro said: “It has always been under consideration, they had to find the physical place and it had to be staffed.”
Jury selection is set to begin September 8.
Mangione has drawn significant public support despite the charges against him.
Donors have given $1.5 million to support his defense.
The killing was widely condemned by public officials but became emblematic of many Americans’ frustration with health insurance industry practices.
In the viral moment that sparked his supporters’ passionate backing,
Mangione is charged in the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a hotel in December 2024.
He was arrested several days later at an Altoona, Pennsylvania McDonald’s.
Prosecutors say they can prove Mangione’s guilt with hundreds of hours of surveillance video, fingerprints, DNA, a cellphone, a gun with matching ballistics and a notebook in which Mangione allegedly wrote of hating insurers and wanting to kill.
Mangione is charged in New York state court with second-degree murder, possession of a forged instrument, and six weapons charges related to the fatal shooting of Thompson.
If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.
Mangione is also slated to stand trial on federal stalking charges in January 2027.